Calling for a negotiated peace in Ukraine to reduce the risk of a devastating World War, veteran US diplomat Henry Kissinger warned that the desire of some to break up Russia could lead to nuclear chaos

In an article in the British magazine "The Spectator" entitled "ways to avoid another World War", Kissinger said: the time is approaching to build on the strategic changes that have already been achieved and integrate them into a new structure towards achieving peace through negotiations.

The peace process should connect Ukraine with NATO. The option of remaining neutral no longer makes sense.

Kissinger said that in May he proposed a ceasefire under which Russia would withdraw to the front lines that it was before the start of its military operation in Ukraine, and Crimea would remain the subject of "negotiations".

Kissinger, 99, also proposed holding a referendum under international supervision to decide on the matter of the territories annexed by Russia in case it proves impossible to return to the scene as it was in 2014.

Kissinger also warned that wanting Russia to look like a "powerless" country or even seeking to dismantle it could unleash chaos.

The dismantling of Russia or the destruction of its ability to conduct strategic policy could turn its territory of 11 time zones into a disputed void.

Their rival societies may decide to settle their disputes by violence, and other states may seek to increase their demands by force.

All these risks will be multiplied by the presence of thousands of nuclear weapons that make Russia one of the two largest nuclear powers in the world.

Kissinger, who played a prominent role in the political breakthrough of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union when he was secretary of state under Republican presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, has held several meetings with Vladimir Putin since he was elected president of Russia for the first time in 2000.

There is no end in sight to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine that broke out on February 24, claimed tens of thousands of lives, displaced millions, and gave Moscow control over about a fifth of the area of Ukraine.

The Kremlin says Kiev should recognize Moscow's annexation of areas in southern and eastern Ukraine, while Ukraine says every Russian soldier should leave its territory, including Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.

Kiev applied to join NATO after Moscow announced the annexation of some Ukrainian territories in September.