Despite the US and
EU’s efforts, the Ukrainian "project" is in danger. If the Ukrainian
government falls it will be a deep embarrassment for Washington, Brussels and
the IMF which sacrificed relations with Russia to support it.
The
political feuding in Ukraine poses a risk not only to the country’s
future but also to US President Barack Obama’s reputation,
journalists Alessandra Prentice and Pavel Polityuk wrote.
During his recent visit to Kiev, US Vice President
Joe Biden said he spends more time speaking to Ukrainian officials
than to his own wife. According to statements issued by Biden’s
office, since 2014 the Vice President spoke by telephone 40 times
with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and 16 times with Prime
Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk. This is in addition to four visits Biden
made to Kiev and several meetings with Poroshenko and Yatsenyuk
in Washington and Europe.
"But despite these efforts, divisions
inside the ruling coalition are growing and many of the reforms are
stalled. If the leaders fail, it will be a deep embarrassment
for Washington, the EU, and the IMF, which sacrificed relations
with Russia to support these people. […] The Obama administration,
along with the EU, has invested deeply in making a success
of Ukraine's Feb. 2014 revolution," the authors wrote.
According to them, despite the fact that
in 2014 US officials and congressmen paid over 100 visits
to Ukraine "the project is in danger".
"If that happens, it will be a squandered
opportunity for Ukraine to break a 25-year cycle of chaos and
corruption and would rob the Obama administration of a rare foreign policy
success," the Reuters article read.
Initially, after the change in power, the news
from Ukraine was positive. Senior US diplomat Victoria Nuland announced a
list of reforms initiated by Kiev, saying that "Ukraine began
to forge a new nation on its own terms."
That was a welcome bright spot for an
administration that had suffered foreign policy setbacks in Libya, Iraq,
Syria and Afghanistan. But in the past few months Ukraine's reform
drive has stuttered. […] Many promises have either stalled in parliament
or remained on paper only," the authors underscored.
In addition, conflicts have broken out between Poroshenko’s allies and Yatsenyuk’s supporters, with some official meetings turning into quarrels. For instance, during one meeting Interior Minister Arsen Avakov threw a glass of water at Odessa Governor Mikheil Saakashvili.
A high-profile Ukrainian official on condition
of anonymity told Reuters that during the meeting between Biden
and Poroshenko in Kiev the US Vice President warned that the current team
has "a last chance to do something" and that the results are
important for Washington.
Biden also said that the US’ patience was running out,
the article noted. The authors underscored that
Yatsenyuk’s resignation has
also been considered. This would be a blow to US policy in Ukraine.
"Washington sees Yatsenyuk, a fluent English
speaker, as the lynchpin of Ukraine's reform effort. According
to a second source close to Poroshenko, Washington will work
with any prime minister, as long as a reformist coalition keeps
power," the article concluded.
Source: Sputnik News 30-12-2015
