• Login
  • Register
The Daily Sceptic
No Result
View All Result
  • Articles
  • About
  • Archive
    • ARCHIVE
    • NEWS ROUND-UPS
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Premium
  • Donate
  • Log In
The Daily Sceptic
No Result
View All Result

Elon Musk and Henry Kissinger on the War in Ukraine

by Noah Carl
2 January 2023 11:00 AM

At the beginning of October, Elon Musk put forward a peace plan for Ukraine. The plan came, like so many of Musk’s ideas, in the form of a Twitter poll:

The tweet received more than 100K replies.

It was not warmly received. In a particularly memorable tweet, Ukraine’s then-ambassador to Germany said, “Fuck off is my very diplomatic reply to you.”

Criticism focused on the first two points: that Russia’s sham referendums be redone under UN supervision, and that Crimea be formally recognised as part of Russia. Perhaps understandably, many Ukrainians and their Western supporters were indignant at the prospect of giving up any territory in exchange for peace.

Musk was told that “you clearly don’t understand the subject”, and it’s good that “you’re not in politics”.

Unlike Musk, one figure who cannot be said to lack understanding of international politics is Henry Kissinger. A veteran of the Cold War, he was ranked as the “most effective U.S. Secretary of State of the past 50 years” in a poll of scholars taken in 2015.

Writing in the Spectator recently, Kissinger outlined a peace plan remarkably similar to Musk’s – though with one key difference.

In May of this year, Kissinger notes, “I recommended establishing a ceasefire line along the borders existing where the war started on February 24th. Russia would disgorge its conquests thence, but not the territory it occupied nearly a decade ago, including Crimea.” He goes on:

If the pre-war dividing line between Ukraine and Russia cannot be achieved by combat or by negotiation, recourse to the principle of self-determination could be explored. Internationally supervised referendums concerning self-determination could be applied to particularly divisive territories which have changed hands repeatedly over the centuries.

In other words, Kissinger endorses both of Musk’s first two points – the ones that attracted so much ire on Twitter. Where Kissinger parts company with Musk is the issue of neutrality.

The war, he writes, “has mooted the original issues regarding Ukraine’s membership in NATO”. And as a result, “the alternative of neutrality is no longer meaningful”. (This represents a contrast with the view he took back in 2014.)

At the present time, of course, the prospect of any such deal being negotiated looks extremely remote. In a recent interview John Mearsheimer told Freddie Sayers: “There’s no deal to be worked out” so “both sides are going to fight this one out”. Further escalation, he observed, is “likely”.

The only circumstances where it seems possible a deal would be done is if the U.S. pressured Ukraine to accept one by threatening to withhold military aid. And that doesn’t seem very likely. So the conflict will probably drag on until one or both sides are exhausted.

If Kissinger believes there still is scope for negotiations, more detail on how to get there would be nice.

Stop Press: Niall Ferguson has written an article for Bloomberg U.K. in which he reflects on other aspects of Henry Kissinger’s Spectator essay on how to avoid another world war.

Tags: Elon MuskHenry KissingerUkraine

Donate

We depend on your donations to keep this site going. Please give what you can.

Donate Today

Comment on this Article

You’ll need to set up an account to comment if you don’t already have one. We ask for a minimum donation of £5 if you'd like to make a comment or post in our Forums.

Sign Up
Previous Post

More Reasons to Doubt the U.K.’s ‘Record’ 40C Temperature Was Attained Last Summer

Next Post

U.K. Doctors Call For Government Investigation of mRNA Covid Vaccines Due to “Alarming Safety Profile”

Subscribe
Login
Notify of
Please log in to comment

To join in with the discussion please make a donation to The Daily Sceptic.

Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.

45 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

NEWSLETTER

View today’s newsletter

To receive our latest news in the form of a daily email, enter your details here:

DONATE

PODCAST

The Sceptic | Episode 38: Chris Bayliss on the Commonwealth Voting Scandal, Sarah Phillimore on the Bar’s Scrapped EDI Plans and Eugyppius on ‘White Genocide’

by Richard Eldred
30 May 2025
2

LISTED ARTICLES

  • Most Read
  • Most Commented
  • Editor’s Picks

Did Muslim Home Office Staff Block Persecuted Christian Woman’s Asylum Claim?

31 May 2025
by Richard Eldred

News Round-Up

31 May 2025
by Richard Eldred

Basic Physics All at Sea in Sky News Climate Scare Nonsense Story

31 May 2025
by Chris Morrison

John Rentoul’s Fake Cost of Net Zero

31 May 2025
by Paul Homewood

Comedian’s Show Cancelled Over Liverpool Parade Crash Joke

30 May 2025
by Richard Eldred

News Round-Up

41

Comedian’s Show Cancelled Over Liverpool Parade Crash Joke

58

Did Muslim Home Office Staff Block Persecuted Christian Woman’s Asylum Claim?

22

Britain Is Sleepwalking Into Total State Control of Our Daily Lives

17

Free Speech Union Scores Victory as Ex-Cop Wins £20,000 Over ‘Thought Crime’ Arrest

16

Basic Physics All at Sea in Sky News Climate Scare Nonsense Story

31 May 2025
by Chris Morrison

John Rentoul’s Fake Cost of Net Zero

31 May 2025
by Paul Homewood

Are Schools Actually Institutionalised Childcare?

30 May 2025
by Joanna Gray

Trump is Handing Africa to the Chinese for the Sake of Social Media Clout

29 May 2025
by Noah Carl

Hooked on Freedom: Why Medical Autonomy Matters

29 May 2025
by Dr David Bell

POSTS BY DATE

January 2023
M T W T F S S
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
3031  
« Dec   Feb »

SOCIAL LINKS

Free Speech Union

NEWSLETTER

View today’s newsletter

To receive our latest news in the form of a daily email, enter your details here:

POSTS BY DATE

January 2023
M T W T F S S
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
3031  
« Dec   Feb »

DONATE

LISTED ARTICLES

  • Most Read
  • Most Commented
  • Editor’s Picks

Did Muslim Home Office Staff Block Persecuted Christian Woman’s Asylum Claim?

31 May 2025
by Richard Eldred

News Round-Up

31 May 2025
by Richard Eldred

Basic Physics All at Sea in Sky News Climate Scare Nonsense Story

31 May 2025
by Chris Morrison

John Rentoul’s Fake Cost of Net Zero

31 May 2025
by Paul Homewood

Comedian’s Show Cancelled Over Liverpool Parade Crash Joke

30 May 2025
by Richard Eldred

News Round-Up

41

Comedian’s Show Cancelled Over Liverpool Parade Crash Joke

58

Did Muslim Home Office Staff Block Persecuted Christian Woman’s Asylum Claim?

22

Britain Is Sleepwalking Into Total State Control of Our Daily Lives

17

Free Speech Union Scores Victory as Ex-Cop Wins £20,000 Over ‘Thought Crime’ Arrest

16

Basic Physics All at Sea in Sky News Climate Scare Nonsense Story

31 May 2025
by Chris Morrison

John Rentoul’s Fake Cost of Net Zero

31 May 2025
by Paul Homewood

Are Schools Actually Institutionalised Childcare?

30 May 2025
by Joanna Gray

Trump is Handing Africa to the Chinese for the Sake of Social Media Clout

29 May 2025
by Noah Carl

Hooked on Freedom: Why Medical Autonomy Matters

29 May 2025
by Dr David Bell

SOCIAL LINKS

Free Speech Union
  • Home
  • About us
  • Donate
  • Privacy Policy

Facebook

  • X

Instagram

RSS

Subscribe to our newsletter

© Skeptics Ltd.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Articles
  • About
  • Archive
    • ARCHIVE
    • NEWS ROUND-UPS
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Premium
  • Donate
  • Log In

© Skeptics Ltd.

wpDiscuz
You are going to send email to

Move Comment
Perfecty
Do you wish to receive notifications of new articles?
Notifications preferences