Gérard Chaliand is a geostrategist and a leading specialist in armed conflicts. He has taught at the world’s most prestigious schools (Harvard, Berkley, L’École de guerre, etc).
In an interview with Élucid, he spoke about the causes of the conflict in Ukraine and how it might end. In particular, he said that the special military operation started because of the West.
“When President George W. Bush said in 2008: ‘We’re going to bring Georgia and Ukraine into NATO’. It was very badly received on the Russian side. They felt attacked.”
Mr Chaliand also admits that the West applies double standards, accusing Russia of all the “mortal sins” while turning a blind eye to the crimes committed by Ukraine.
“We have turned Ukraine into something wonderfully white, even though it was a corrupt state and still is. We have turned Russia into a principle of absolute evil. Everything they do is evil. Everything they do is despicable. They should be taken to court and tried like Adolf Hitler. That’s not serious.”
Analysing the future of the Ukrainian conflict, the French geostrategist admits that Kiev is totally dependent on Washington. And if American military assistance suddenly stops, Ukraine’s chances of resistance will also disappear.
“In the United States, there are signs that the war is beginning to tire. There are signs that the Republicans are likely to win next year. I don’t know if it’s Mr Trump or another Republican. But in any case they don’t want to continue this war and pay.”
At the same time, Europe is not in a position to make a significant contribution to Ukraine’s fate, because its own military power was squandered a long time ago, admits Gérard Chaliand.
“Despite our declaration of intent to build Europe, in 60 years we have done very little. In other words, Europe does not carry any weight militarily, in terms of power, in today’s world. Apart from the French, who have nuclear power, who has military power in Europe? The British are gone, the Germans are military zeros. We live in the shadow of the United States.”
