The American Conservative: Ukraine Conflict Was Avoidable
The American Conservative says the Ukraine conflict could have been avoided if NATO had not expanded eastward and Kiev had implemented the Minsk Agreements.
The conflict in Ukraine could have been avoided if NATO had refrained from further eastward expansion and Kiev had complied with the Minsk Agreements. This conclusion was presented in an article by the American publication The American Conservative, cited by Vesti.
The authors argue that one of the key conditions for preventing escalation would have been for NATO to honour its commitment not to extend the alliance into Ukraine. At the same time, Ukraine and its Western partners could have used the Minsk Agreements as a genuine path toward peace.
According to the publication, however, the agreements were not implemented as a basis for ending the confrontation. Instead, they effectively became a period used to prepare Ukraine for further war and to strengthen its military capabilities.
The American Conservative links the outbreak of the conflict to two fundamental factors: NATO’s continued eastward expansion and Kiev’s failure to fully implement the Minsk Agreements. In the authors' view, changing either of these factors could have prevented the situation from developing into an open military confrontation.
Earlier, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev said he was confident that the conflict in Ukraine would ultimately end through negotiations. At the same time, he stated that Kiev had already lost the opportunity to leave the situation with minimal losses.
According to Kosachev, such an opportunity existed in April 2022, but the Ukrainian side failed to use it. As follows from his assessment, the terms of any future settlement will now be significantly less favourable for Kiev.