I have my criticisms of the Obama administration, but it does seem to have the right idea about the European Union’s diplomatic efficacy. His top diplomat for European and Eurasian affairs, Victoria Nuland, has been taking a lot of stick after she was caught on tape (or hacked, as we Brits would call it) discussing the Ukraine problem with the US ambassador in Kiev, Geoffrey Pyatt. She was rude about the EU, but the condemnation of her language seems to have overlooked her central point.
The EU has been trying to muscle in on talks about Ukraine’s pro-democracy moves. It could have helped by offering membership to Ukraine, but it prevaricated – and now wants to insert this prevarication into the negotiations. No wonder other (non-Russian) diplomats are dismayed.
The Americans have a clearer line on Ukraine. A few weeks back, Nuland herself went to Independence Square in Kiev to denote her support for the pro-democracy demonstrators. In her conversation, she is caught telling her colleague that the UN is getting more involved – and that its secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, is about to appoint a representative to Ukraine. She then says:-
“That would be great I think to help glue this thing and have the UN glue it. And you know, fuck the EU.”
And here’s the audio:-
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