WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Both the United States and traditional European powers must avoid repeating historical mistakes and account for Russia’s interest in the future of Ukraine, former US diplomat and defense official Chas Freeman told Sputnik.
"Russia has to be part of an organic management system for security in Europe," Freeman said. "I put that in the context that we have made serious mistakes in Europe historically."
When Germany was defeated in the First World War, they were excluded from the 1919 peace negotiations at Versailles and saddled with extensive war reparations by the victors. Russia was also excluded from the peace talks by the Allies who refused to recognize the new Bolshevik government.
"We excluded Germany and Russia, and it didn’t work out very well — we had World War II. And we are making the same mistake," Freeman added, referring to the current approach of the West toward Russia in the post-Cold War era.
In an inclusive security arrangement in Europe, Ukraine "should be a buffer state and a bridge between Russia and the rest of Europe," Freeman argued.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the West incorporated the vast majority of former Warsaw Pact nations in the NATO alliance, and maintains an open door policy to new members. NATO’s leadership has often argued that Moscow will not have a "veto" on any nation’s membership in the military alliance.
Russia strongly opposed what it views as the expansion of NATO and military buildup along its western border and maintains the right to defend its territorial integrity.
