Photo: Global Look Press
Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe cited President Vladimir Zelensky’s position on NATO membership and settlement in the Donbas as the reason for the start of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine.
In an interview with the Economist, Abe suggested that the special operation could have been avoided by changing the course of NATO membership and granting broad autonomy to the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics.
At the same time, the former Japanese leader admitted that it would be very difficult to influence Zelensky, and only US President Joe Biden had the necessary resources, but even in this case, the president of Ukraine would not change his position.
Earlier, Abe called on the United States to reconsider its strategy towards Taiwan.
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation in Ukraine in response to a request from the leaders of the Donbass republics for help. After that, the United States, the EU, the United Kingdom, as well as a number of other states imposed large-scale sanctions against the Russian Federation.