Former State Secretary Henry Kissinger gave his thoughts on major current events in what was possibly his last interview before death.

The giant of diplomacy interviewed on Oct. 17 with Swiss author Rolf Dobelli, who detailed the exchange in Politico magazine. Kissinger gave his perspective on the Israel-Hamas War, saying that he believed a two-state solution was no longer viable, and urged the United States to reconcile with China. He appeared fully pessimistic about the future between Israel and the Palestinian people.

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"Well, I’m not in Netanyahu’s shoes so that I cannot judge all the forces that impinge on him," Kissinger answered when asked how he would respond to Hamas's attack if he were in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's position. "I am in favor of a peaceful outcome. I don’t see a peaceful outcome with Hamas involved in the conflict. I would favor negotiations between the Arab world and Israel. I do not see, especially after these events, that direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians are very fruitful."

He seemed skeptical of the idea of a single solution that would lead to lasting peace in the region, particularly when asked if a two-state solution would lead to lasting peace.

"A formal peace doesn’t guarantee a lasting peace," Kissinger said. "The difficulty of the two-state solution is shown by the experience of Hamas. Gaza was made quasi-independent by [former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon in order to test the possibility of a two-state solution. It has led, in fact, to a much more complex situation. It has become so much worse in the last two years than it has been in 2005. So the two-state solution doesn’t guarantee that what we saw in the last weeks won’t happen again."

Instead, the former secretary of state proposed that the West Bank should be put under Jordanian control. However, he avoided speaking on what should be done with Gaza after the war, aside from the removal of Hamas.

Kissinger also said that Israel isn't as strong relative to the Arab powers as it was previously, so the United States must take a more direct role in negotiations. For a lasting peace, he said, Arab leaders must do more to keep their radicals in check, but that seemed increasingly unlikely due to the passions aroused by the current conflict.

Regarding China, a favorite subject of Kissinger's, he said the U.S. should reconcile with the country and expressed doubt that it would take the current opportunity to invade Taiwan.

"In my opinion, China is not ready for such a conflict," he said. "It’s a theoretical opportunity. China, in my view, has the capacity to establish a relationship with the United States. But we have to pay attention that on our side the attitude that has developed may not make it impossible."

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Kissinger concluded the interview with his signature wit, responding to the question of how he remained "100 years young" by remarking, "I chose my parents well. I have inherited good genes as a result."

In closing, when asked what his future plans were, he responded, "I have no future plan except to be engaged in matters that are important and to which I can make a small contribution."