It is right to deliver heavy weapons to Kyiv, says Henry Kissinger, the grand old man of international crisis diplomacy. But the war over Ukraine must not become a war over Russia.

Henry Kissinger’s office is on Park Avenue near Central Park in Manhattan. The former secretary of state traveled from his home in the state of Connecticut for the interview with the star. He walks bent over, with a cane, an employee leads him into the corner room and there into his chair. Behind them on the windowsill framed photos of Kissinger with Angela Merkel, Barack Obama, Richard Nixon, George W. Bush, Mao Zedong. In the hallway a soccer ball from the Fürth game association and the new book by Norbert Röttgen.

Mr. Kissinger, you just turned 99. What is the secret of your longevity? I was smart enough to choose my parents. Both turned almost 98.