The idea of a trilateral summit between the US, Russia and China is reminiscent of the 1938 Munich Agreement, as Putin seeks to divide Europe and re-establish spheres of influence. This was stated by Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Chairman of the Kyiv Security Forum and Prime Minister of Ukraine from 2014 to 2016, in an interview on the Polish television channel TVP World.
Yatsenyuk emphasised that such a format for negotiations is a sham. “This meeting is reminiscent of the Munich Agreement. This is precisely what Putin is striving to achieve – he wants to divide Europe, restore spheres of influence, and then organise something akin to the Yalta Conference, but one in which a modern-day Hitler – that is, Putin – would take Stalin’s place,” he noted.
Chairman of the KSF emphasised that it is impossible to conclude any peace agreement concerning Ukraine without Ukraine itself, and it is impossible to achieve genuine peace in Europe without Europe. “So these are sham negotiations. Putin certainly has clear intentions and objectives. And the fact that these so-called negotiations are scheduled for the period after the mid-term elections will influence the US administration’s decision,” Yatsenyuk stressed.
The KSF Chairman described the US administration’s decision to lift sanctions and purchase Russian diesel as an unprecedented move. “I never expected this administration to lift the sanctions. This completely contradicts the bill that was passed by the Senate and signed by President Trump. Lindsey Graham’s bill was intended to increase pressure on Putin, not to lift sanctions and throw Putin a lifeline,” he added.
Additional information
The Munich Agreement, signed on 30 September 1938 between Germany, the United Kingdom, France and Italy, allowed Adolf Hitler to seize part of Czechoslovakia. The decision to cede the territories was taken without Czechoslovakia’s involvement. The agreement, intended to prevent war, became a symbol of the policy of appeasement towards the aggressor, and just one year later, the Second World War began.
The Yalta Conference took place on February 4–11, 1945, with the participation of the leaders of the USA, the United Kingdom and the USSR – Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin. They discussed the post-war order in Europe, in particular the future of Germany and Poland. Despite promises of free elections, the USSR subsequently established control over most of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Yalta became a symbol of the great powers’ agreements on the fate of other countries without their involvement.