Ukraine’s third President Viktor Yushchenko has sharply criticized the proposed US-Russia peace plan for Ukraine, calling it humiliating and reminiscent of historic diplomatic failures, according to Liga. He compared the plan to the 1938 Munich Agreement — the deal widely known as the “Munich Betrayal,” which ceded part of Czechoslovakia to Nazi Germany. Yushchenko noted that the agreement preceded the outbreak of World War II by just 11 months.
Yushchenko urges US to act responsibly for nations that trusted its policy
In an interview with Liga, Yushchenko said that Ukraine and many other countries had believed in the US-led vision of freedom and democracy, adding that the US should remain fully committed to this cause.
“Very many nations, including Ukraine, have chosen their future by choosing freedom and democracy, understanding that the leader of this movement — the global leader of this movement — is America and its policy,” Yushchenko said, adding: "Dozens and dozens of nations have placed their trust in American policy, and one must be responsible for those who responded to it, who embraced this policy, and remain fully committed to it."
Yushchenko brought up the 1938 Munich Agreement, which allowed Nazi Germany to seize part of Czechoslovakia, and recalled British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s justification that the UK would otherwise have to dig trenches in a faraway land unknown to many. Yushchenko pointed out that World War II broke out just 11 months later, stressing that appeasement came with a heavy price. He also noted Russia’s earlier aggressions in Moldova and Georgia as part of the same pattern.
Peace plan insults Ukraine’s legacy as nuclear disarmer and UN founder
Yushchenko reminded that Ukraine was one of the 50 founding members of the United Nations in 1945 and the first country to accept full nuclear disarmament in 1994. At that time, Ukraine transferred 1,700 nuclear warheads and their carriers, including aircraft, to Russia. The disarmament was formalized with signatures from the presidents of both the US and Russia. Now, he argues, the same countries that once guaranteed Ukraine’s sovereignty have offered it a degrading proposal.
Yushchenko expressed outrage over the 28-point plan reportedly proposed by these powers.
“It is humiliating to read those lines,” he said.
He believes the document should be archived by anyone concerned with security issues, predicting that it will go down as "the most disgraceful page in Western diplomacy" in the first half of the 21st century.
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Yushchenko warns of a new Munich — but says Ukraine will reject it
Calling the 1938 agreement “a great shame of diplomacy of the last century,” Yushchenko said the world was now facing a second Munich. However, he was confident that Ukraine would not accept such terms.
“We’ve approached Munich-2,” he said.
