Francis Fukuyama did not make such statements in an interview with Radio Svoboda. This conclusion was made by the Russian media. In reality, the American philosopher noted that the only way for Russia to leave the occupied territories is Ukraine’s victory. He also said that “the issue that Ukraine will face in the future is the possibility that not 100 percent can be liberated”. Yet he specified that all discussions about territorial concessions during future negotiations are speculative, and only the Ukrainians themselves should answer these questions and make decisions.
Pro-Kremlin sources spread the quotes of the American political scientist Francis Fukuyama, who allegedly said in an interview with Radio Svoboda that Ukraine will not be able to return all the lost territories and that the war “may continue for a very long time.”
The American philosopher and political scientist Francis Fukuyama did recently give an exclusive interview to Radio Svoboda, but he did not make the statements that the propaganda outlined in their headlines. This is yet another manipulation and distortion of the words of a well-known personality in order to impose the narrative that Ukraine is not capable of winning a war with Russia and that not all lands will be deoccupied.
In reality, Francis Fukuyama discussed the possible end of Russia’s war with Ukraine and the future negotiation process, noting that he currently sees no reason for negotiations. The interviewer asked the political scientist if Zelenskyi’s words indicate that the only possible option for Ukraine and its “peace formula” is to liberate its territories up to the 1991 borders, and whether any negotiation process would mean for Ukraine the need to cede a certain part of its territory. To this Fukuyama replied:
“I believe that the only way in which Russia can leave the territories it occupies is only through the victory of Ukraine. We all hope so. The issue that Ukraine will face in the future is the possibility that not 100 percent can be liberated, and coming to terms with the idea that this war may continue for a very long time. But all this is speculation. As a foreigner, I cannot give advice on this matter; this is a question to which the Ukrainians themselves must answer and approve the decision.”
Thus, Fukuyama spoke only about the “possibility” that not all territories of Ukraine will be liberated, but he did not claim that this is the only possible version of the development of events.
Besides, regarding the end and duration of the war, the political scientist said that “none of us can predict how long this war will last.” And he added that, most likely, the situation in Ukraine will be somewhat similar to the situation in Israel, since Russia is and, most likely, will remain quite powerful.
Earlier, StopFake refuted the quote of the CIA’s ex-leader that Ukraine is allegedly hardly capable of carrying out a counteroffensive and that the West allegedly began to convince Ukraine of the need for territorial concessions.
