Former National Security Advisor Lt. General Michael Flynn (USA-Ret.) delivered a bold plan to quickly end the war in Ukraine.
Gen. Flynn outlined his plan in a guest editorial published by “The Western Journal” Thursday. He opined his plan was probably too bold for President Joe Biden to implement because he doesn’t believe the administration is strong enough to deliver it. Flynn suggests either British Prime Minister Boris Johnson or French President Emmanuel Macron propose it to Putin.
The first part of the plan addresses one of the main concerns outlined by Russian President Vladimir Putin in justification of invading Ukraine. He is dead set against Ukraine joining the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO], the mutual defense agreement between the United States and many European countries.
Flynn points to the 1994 Budapest agreement that granted Ukraine security assurances in return for giving up its nuclear weapons. Even though Russia violated its pledge not to attack Ukraine, which was given in that treaty, Flynn says Russia could save face by agreeing to abide by it. He adds that probably would requiring NATO to declare that a neutral Ukraine, under the Budapest Agreement, would not be eligible to join NATO.
Putin probably would not care if they join the European Union but has expressed fear about a NATO signatory on its border. So, a decision to never accept Ukraine into NATO would probably solve that problem.
Next, the retired general says Ukraine should agree to renounce its claim on Crimea and acknowledge it belongs to Russia. He added they should get a huge payment from Russia, though, to compensate Ukraine for the many infrastructure improvements the country made to Crimea since the 1950s when Russia gave the peninsula to Ukraine.
Since the United States alone has confiscated more than $600 billion of Russian foreign reserves held in the U.S., Putin could negotiate giving that money to Ukraine as reparations for their improvements to Crimea during their sixty-plus years of control. Since that money is probably never going to be given back to Russia anyway, Putin may feel he really isn’t losing anything by “giving” it to Ukraine. And, since Ukraine must realize they have little realistic chance of ever regaining control of Crimea, they would probably accept. Win-Win!
Finally, Putin should blame his generals for firing on civilians in Ukraine cities.
“He can claim that senior generals or other Russian defense officials failed to follow his orders and publicly fire them,” Flynn suggested. “However the provision may be described, it gives Putin the chance to call this insane war off.”
“As another famous president said about a voting bloc in our country, what do you have to lose?” Flynn added. “I do think this would be agreeable to Putin if the alternative is brutal sanctions and a reputation as a pariah.”
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