Former US Diplomat Michael Pompeo Discusses Future of Ukraine at QF Talk

A senior figure in US politics, diplomacy, and foreign policy has shared his perspectives on international issues, including the war in Ukraine, during a talk at Qatar Foundation.

Michael Pompeo, who served as the 70th United States Secretary of State and is the former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, spoke on the topic America – It Must be a Force for Good in the latest edition of Qatar Foundation’s Education City Speaker Series, held at Qatar National Library in Education City.

Among those attending the event was Ukraine’s Ambassador to Qatar, His Excellency Andriy Kuzmenko, who told Pompeo that Ukraine is “a nation of warriors, and a peaceful nation that wishes to live in harmony with the world”, and asked him how situations such as that which his country is now facing can be prevented in the future. 

Pompeo – who held the position of US Secretary of State from 2018 to 2021, and had a central role in crafting the country’s foreign policy – told the Education City Speaker Series audience: “There will be an enormous amount of work to do to assist Ukraine and return it just to where it was a handful of weeks ago – the world will have to do that together, and we will rely on the wealth and productivity and creativity of the world for a long time. 

“I worry that when the moment passes, and Ukraine is no longer on TV sets, the world will turn away and think about the next problem, and I hope that is not the case. The lesson is that if nations are not prepared to demonstrate resolve, and are not prepared to make clear that there will be an enormous cost to someone who violates the most basic principles of humanity, there will be more of this.”

Pompeo said that “statesmanship” has to be the global response to the Ukraine situation, saying: “We should make sure there is an enormous amount of engagement from everywhere, from all sides, in trying to find that place where we can reduce the continued loss of life – Russian as well as Ukrainian life – and make sure we don’t end up in a place that is terribly escalatory.”

During his talk, Pompeo aired his belief that achieving an US objective is “nearly impossible” without having “an understanding about how others would perceive the efforts you are making”. 

“We always knew we had to build not transactions, but relationships, around the world, and build alliances with people who run their countries very differently,” he said of his time as US Secretary of State. “We worked tirelessly to find common ground where we could work better alongside each other.

“The sense of what is real, what is possible, and what the objectives are that have the capacity to make life better for the people of your nation in a global space always requires that you are considerate of the interests of others as well.”

The audience included current students and alumni of universities at Qatar Foundation, Pompeo told them: “It’s fine to have a Twitter account and to be on TikTok, and you can learn from these platforms, but the depth and capacity to really understand the foundational things that will change your lives, the lives of your families and communities, and indeed the lives of the nations from which you come are not to be found in these places.

“They are to be found in the deeper learning that comes from both conservative and liberal thinkers. Read widely, read in depth, read past 180 characters on your cellphones. And learning also comes from sharing your ideas and thoughts with people from different cultures and backgrounds. These are the ways a force for good can move forward.”

Pompeo’s talk – moderated by Dr. Leslie Pal, Dean of the College of Public Policy at QF’s Hamad Bin Khalifa University – was the latest edition of the Education City Speaker Series, a QF platform for dialogue that hosts experts and thought-leaders on key topics and issues shaping the world, and allows member of the public to interact with them.

For more information about the Education City Speaker Series, and to keep up to date with future events, visit www.qf.org.qa/ecss.