Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Archival photoMOSCOW, May 29th. The position of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on NATO membership and the refusal to resolve the conflict in Donbass led to the launch of a Russian special operation in the former Soviet republic, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told the Economist.
"Probably hostilities could have been avoided if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky could be forced to promise that his country would not join NATO, or forced to grant a high degree of autonomy to two enclaves in the east,” Abe said.
The politician pointed out that it would be extremely difficult to achieve a change in the position of the Ukrainian leader. In his opinion, US President Joe Biden could influence the head of the former Soviet republic. “But, Zelensky, of course, would refuse,” Abe concluded. Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24. According to the Ministry of Defense, the armed forces strike only at the military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops, and on March 25 they completed the main tasks of the first stage — they significantly reduced the combat potential of Ukraine. The main goal in the Russian military department was called the liberation of Donbass.Read the full text of the article on the InoSMI website >>
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