Historic Holler – Briefly surprised by an inexperienced war teller

“There is no simple solution. The situation is too complicated,” Kurz philosophized in the interview. “But the good news is that every war has ended in negotiations at some point,” the former chancellor said.

No one there to negotiate
Kurz is largely alone with this assessment: Nazi Germany, for example, was militarily destroyed by the Allies in 1945, and the war didn’t end with negotiations. After Germany capitulated, there was simply no government with which to negotiate a peace treaty. It was not until 1990 that reunification and a number of outstanding questions after World War II were settled with the formerly victorious Allied Powers in the so-called Two Plus Four Treaty.

Despots overthrown, withdrawn from frustration
There are also examples from the modern era: the Third Gulf War ended not with negotiations, but with the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and the defeat of the Iraqi army.

The Russian mission in Afghanistan in 1989 formally ended with a Geneva agreement, but the real reason for the end of the war was the lack of military success for the Russians, who withdrew from the country.

A situation similar to that of the Vietnam War, at the end of which a ceasefire was formally signed, but the Americans withdrew voluntarily, frustrated by increasing domestic political pressure.

No “tips from outside”
The ex-chancellor went on to be sparing with further analysis over the course of the interview: Regarding a possible compromise, he said Ukraine is entitled to its territorial sovereignty and does not need “tips from outside,” Kurz said.