US Secretary of State John Kerry’s public message in Kyiv on July 7 (see accompanying article) reaffirms, broadly, the talking points that Assistant Secretary Victoria Nuland had been delivering in Kyiv since May 2015 (see EDM, May 26). It was at that point that Kerry and Nuland initiated non-transparent bilateral discussions with Moscow about Ukraine. Soon, Nuland took charge and descended periodically on Kyiv, urging compliance with Ukraine’s political “obligations” under the Minsk “agreement.” Kerry and Nuland’s joint visit on July 7, however, has added urgency and even impatience to Kerry’s tone, reflecting the Barack Obama administration’s rush to show …read more
Source: The Jamestown Foundation