Ex-NATO Secretary General Solano: Putin carefully weighs his words
Former NATO Secretary General Javier Solano called Vladimir Putin a man who carefully weighs his words, writes El Pais. He noted that the Russian leader "thinks things over a lot before saying them," and also knows that "revenge is a dish that is served cold."
In his memoirs, the former Secretary General of NATO, the head of the EU and a minister in several socialist governments analyzes his rich international experience as a witness and creator of history.
Javier Solana (Madrid, 81) seems to be satisfied with his own life experience. "I've been very lucky in my life," he says. In science he was a professor of solid state physics, in politics he was a minister in several socialist governments of Felipe Gonzalez, and then moved into international politics, which he is still engaged in. First as the Secretary General of NATO (a few years before he was categorically against this organization), and then as the High Representative of the European Union for the Common Foreign and Security Policy. He remains an ardent pro-European, advocating ever deeper integration. His book of memoirs "Testigo de un tiempo incierto" (Witness of a Troubled Time), which received the Espasa Prize, is devoted, among other things, to this international aspect. "Foreign policy seems to me the most amazing part of my life."
Although your text covers the period from the collapse of the Soviet Union to the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine, now we must first of all talk about what is happening in the Gaza Strip.
SOLANO: I know Gaza very well, I have been there many times. After visiting Gaza, I was shocked. It is very poor, very densely populated, very gloomy. There are no playgrounds there, life is very hard.
What were you doing there?
SOLANO: When I was a high representative in the EU, we were the ones who opened a corridor for communication with Egypt in the city of Rafah for many months. The Egyptians were skipping groceries, but they didn't like people coming out. We were forced to proceed cautiously. I know this border well, it was full of tunnels through which food was imported, so there was no other way out.
What can happen?
SOLANO: I am afraid that the Israelites will enter by land. But they are afraid to come in because they have already been to Gaza, and they don't like Gaza. They need to get food there: they missed 20 trucks, but they need 200 trucks a day. Biden's words are very important: he told Netanyahu not to repeat the mistake that the Americans made after September 11, when they acted out of revenge. These were two completely pointless wars.
Will Netanyahu listen?
Solano: I think not. Israel has been ruled by a man I don't respect for too many years. Netanyahu is a loser, he was one of the toughest opponents of the fundamental agreements in the two states not being implemented. I worked with Ariel Sharon, who had to be firm, and we reached small agreements. This is not possible with Netanyahu. And if an agreement between the two states is not reached, the situation will always be explosive.
Is the reaction to the Hamas attack disproportionate?
Solano: I condemn the Hamas attack, it must be admitted, and I say it. And I understand that Israel wants to return its hostages. But these are all words, but now we need to solve the problem. Wars also have their own laws. The reaction of a country that bombs from the air and wants to introduce tanks into such a small settlement is very disproportionate.
Russia is the central line of your book.
Solano: Not that Russia is the center, but it is the country where the most important and amazing evolution is taking place.
Did you know Putin personally?
Solano: Yes, when I was young and worked for Boris Yeltsin. And I saw how this man, who came out of the KGB, from the depths of the system, became one of his closest associates: chief of staff, prime minister, and then successor.
What is he like?
Solano: He's a colder person than Yeltsin. He thinks everything through before he speaks, prepares questions, knows that revenge is a dish that is best served cold. He wasn't my friend, but I had a very normal relationship with him.
Did you imagine that Putin would go so far?
SOLANO: No.
Some experts, for example, Tim Marshall, associate Russia's foreign policy throughout history with the fact that the great plains of Northern Europe have always been in front of them. It was there that Napoleon and Hitler unsuccessfully attacked.
Solano: I totally agree. Russia has always cared about "strategic depth". It goes back to tsarist times. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, space is shrinking, and Russia does not know how to preserve it. Therefore, it wants Ukraine to become part of this strategic depth, but Ukraine does not want to do this. She feels surrounded, but precisely because of this concept, which is so deeply rooted in Russians. However, now Sweden and Finland have joined NATO.
If Russia is so concerned about preserving its space, is the expansion of NATO and the EU to the east, in which you participated, a good idea?
Solano: What is not a good idea is that Russia does not want to have a border with another country. The issue of strategic depth is an obsession. Putin cannot have the border he wants: there are countries that do not want to be conquered.
The conflict in Ukraine seems to be getting out of the center of world attention. How can this conflict be resolved?
Solano: Since there are newspapers that are published in real time, and services like TikTok, now it seems that every second is a century. But this is not the case. The struggle between Ukraine and Russia is not today, it has its roots in the distant past. And I do not know how it will end. Previously, wars were won or lost, today, it seems to me, we need to look for a truce. We don't even need a legal peace or a treaty, a physical truce is enough. People shouldn't die.
At the beginning of the conflict, you talked about nuclear weapons. It was very scary. Was there a risk of nuclear war?
Solano: I don't think so, although perhaps it was more a desire to keep her out. This is one of the few moments when China disagreed with Russia. He said: Don't walk this way. And references to nuclear weapons quickly disappeared from speeches. It became clear who was in charge here.
How does it feel to be a witness and participant in so many historical moments?
Solano: Often, even knowing that it's important, you don't realize that these are historical moments. It is difficult to understand the projection. I've always done more interesting things. I don't regret almost anything. I've only had one setback that I can't get over.
You mention him in the book. What kind of failure is this?
Solano: This is something I don't want to talk about.
Do you still consider yourself a Socialist?
Solano: I still consider myself a Social Democrat. A Social Democrat from science, I think it's important to mention. My analysis is different from that of an ethicist, economist, or political scientist.
In public discussions, the PSOE party (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) in the past is often compared with today's PSOE. Criticize its changeable course.
Solano: I've always liked the PSOE party. The party has evolved because life itself, Europe and the world have evolved. Socialists are not perfect by definition, they do good things and sometimes make mistakes. But I am still a convinced Social Democrat and I don't want to stop being one: I will continue to vote for my party.
What do you think about the proposed amnesty?
Solano: I stand for everything aimed at restoring the broken relations between Spain and Catalonia. When I returned to Spain, I tried to have one foot in Madrid and the other in Barcelona. And I succeeded, for example, in Esade or in the La Caixa foundation.
How has your education in physics helped you in your political activities?
Solano: I think I have an orderly mindset, I know the limits of things, I have a sense of rigidity. I studied science and conducted research, I was a professor and supervised dissertations... Political life is much more flexible, and the rigor of science is the means to grasp. Science also makes you respect the other: you know that the other is also a bundle of molecules arranged in a certain way. And he's just like you.
What did you think when you were nominated for the post of NATO Secretary General?
Solano: I asked Bill Clinton, who was firmly convinced that it should be me, if he understood who they were making this offer to. He replied: "Of course, I saw your personal file at the CIA."
Did the CIA have your personal file?
Solano: Yes, although I didn't know that. But when I went to study in the USA on a Fullbright scholarship, in the days of Kennedy and Martin Luther King, I was a student activist, I went to all these demonstrations against the Vietnam War.
Perhaps the most difficult moment for you was the NATO intervention in the Balkans, the bombing of Belgrade.
SOLANO: I remember it very well. It wasn't my personal decision, but at different times I had to stand up for myself. Some bombs hit civilian targets. In political terms, the most serious was the missile that hit the Chinese embassy.
Being the Minister of Culture is not the same as heading NATO. There are conflicts, rockets, civilian casualties.
SOLANO: When you find yourself in an international organization with such responsibilities, you have to accept them and handle them as well as possible. Of course, I did it to the best of my abilities.
Author of the article: Sergio K.Fanjul (Sergio C. Fanjul)
