If there is one question to ask U.S. Ambassador Geoffrey R. Pyatt, this would be it: How many Ukrainians have to die before America and the European Union help arm the nation and impose tougher sanctions?
As of July 1, when Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko restarted the military campaign to oust Kremlin-backed insurgents, Pyatt had no answer about whether and when the West would impose further sanctions aimed at stopping Russia’s war against Ukraine. The fighting has claimed the lives of 200 Ukrainian servicemen and hundreds more civilians and Kremlin-backed separatists.
As the week ended, Western leaders were still only talking about what to do next. The lack of unity and decisive action is disappointing for Ukrainians who hope that, after four months of Russian aggression, the West will enact crippling sanctions on Russia’s financial, energy and military sectors.
But Pyatt, during an interview timed for the American Fourth of July holiday, emphasized the progress made so far.
When it comes to military aid, Pyatt cites an increase in U.S. security spending on Ukraine to $23 million this year, mainly in the non-lethal area – to improve border controls, for night vision goggles and the imminent delivery of 2,000 suits of body armor for the Ukrainian troops. He cites closer military cooperation and training. All helpful, but nobody is claiming the aid will be enough to turn the increasingly bloody war in Ukraine’s favor.
Pyatt said he’d like for the US to do more – and it will – but said it’s important that the United States and European Union remain united in their response to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, including the Feb. 27 military invasion of the Crimean peninsula. There’s just one problem with Pyatt’s point: The West is not united, at least not yet. Some EU nations are openly sympathetic to Russia, while the big three EU powerhouses – England, Germany and France – are not willing to sacrifice their financial and economic deals with Russia to help Ukraine and punish international lawlessness. France, the most flagrant violator of the trio, is selling two $1.6 billion Mistral warships to Russia, while Germany continues to help Russia’s energy sector and London’s financial sector continues to shelter money for Russian oligarchs.
In the United States, meanwhile, two influential lobbies – the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers – have undertaken a campaign to block further U.S. sanctions. Against this backdrop, many Ukrainians feel they are on their own.
But Pyatt, a year into his tenure replacing John F. Tefft as America’s ambassador to Ukraine, remains optimistic that Ukraine’s best days are ahead – as are U.S-Ukraine relations.
He notes with pride that Ukraine has reclaimed its democracy this year and that the U.S. is seeking to deepen bilateral ties in many ways — including the recent relaxation of rules to allow 10-year tourist visas to qualifying Ukrainians.
Here are excerpts from the July 1 interview:
On why the US should not impose tougher sanctions than the EU:
“I don’t think it serves Ukraine’s interests and it certainly wouldn’t serve Americans’ interests to see a divergence between American and European approaches.”
On the reality that France and other EU members are not in sync with the United States:
“We have been very clear that now is not the appropriate time for a large defense transaction with Russia like the Mistral sale (by France of two warships worth $1.6 billion).
On why he thinks the limited sanctions on Russia have helped:
“They helped to create the space in which the Ukrainian people exercised their franchise to have presidential elections on May 25. They have sparked a significant debate among Russian political and economic elites about the costs of the policies that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin has pursued, including the invasion of Crimea. We’ve made clear that those costs are going to remain as long as Russian policy moves in this direction. It’s hard because there are economic costs that come with sanctions. Those economic costs are often greater for our European partners than they are for the United States…”
On his hopes for more American aid to Ukraine:
“I think the Ukrainian people deserve it. They’ve earned that through the courage they demonstrated through the months of Maidan (the EuroMaidan Revolution that ousted President Viktor Yanukovych) and what they’ve done through elections.”
On securing Ukraine’s eastern border with Russia:
“We will continue to work with Ukraine to enhance the ability of Ukraine’s authorities, the border guards and the army to control the Russian frontier which has been a sieve for tanks and missile systems, and MANPADS and money and mercenaries and all kinds of instability…”
On the underlying reason for instability in Ukraine’s Donbas:
“I am convinced the root of the problem in the Donbas is economic underdevelopment. If you deal with the Russia problem, which we are dealing with through sanctions, through diplomacy, through security assistance; then you have to deal with the underlying socioeconomic roots of instability, and that’s something where the United States will be a good partner.”
On why Yanukovych was overthrown:
“What brought the Yanukovych regime tumbling down was the widespread perception that his government had evolved to serve solely the interests of his family. It created a situation which was politically intolerable.”
On the challenges ahead in ending Ukraine’s culture of corruption:
“It’s really hard because that’s how the game is played. Everybody has their expectations. I have spoken to ministers who have described to me how shocked they were at the scale of corruption that they found in their bureaucracies when they took over in February and March, but then also described how hard it is to uproot these patterns of behavior. It’s hard-wired. It’s written into these business plans. It’s how people plan their budgets. It’s part of people’s compensation…I hope that Prime Minister (Arseniy) Yatsenyuk, who has been so effective on these issues of economic reform and presenting a new Ukraine, will continue to use the platform he enjoys to signal to the people and government that the rules of the game have changed; that government officials need to embody the principle that this government is going to exist to serve the needs of the people.”
On the prospect of Tefft as U.S. ambassador to Russia:
“I will tell you that as I took this job a year ago, everybody at this mission loved John Tefft. He was a hugely successful American ambassador in Kyiv, well regarded by everybody I met, so I think that tells you a lot about how he will do for any president.”
On why U.S. President Barack Obama hasn’t visited Ukraine yet:
“Having been part of President Obama’s meeting in the Oval Office with Prime Minister Yatsenyuk back in March and then also having joined the president in his meeting with President-elect Poroshenko in Warsaw…that was a substantive, hour-long discussion looking at the details of our strategic partnership…you have the whole of the government effort built around supporting Obama’s one-sentence formulation of U.S. policy in Ukraine: The Ukrainian people get to choose.”
On whether he agrees with U.S. Sen. John McCain that Obama is weak because he won’t supply lethal weapons to Ukraine:
“I stay out of domestic politics in the United States.”
On whether Obama’s failure to punish chemical weapons use by Syrian President Bashir al-Assad gave the green light to Putin’s military invasion of Crimea:
“Anybody who imagines that Russian aggression against Crimea was stimulated by something other than the Putin preoccupation with Ukraine doesn’t understand the emotional dimension of this or, for that matter, how well-prepared the invasion and annexation of Crimea was.”
On spending America’s Independence Day in Ukraine:
“It’s my favorite American holiday, largely because it is in so many ways a celebration of the idea of America, which all of us Americans understand but everybody else finds kind of abstract — this principle of individual liberty, democracy, the principle that democracy is something that is inalienable. For me, it’s a unique honor to spend that holiday this year in Ukraine which has reclaimed its own democracy…Ultimately this (EuroMaidan Revolution) was about that Obama principle: The Ukrainian people get to choose. It’s obviously somewhat clouded by the fact that you have this counter-insurgency effort that will continue to unfold, sadly, in the east. Our hope is that the military operation can come to a close as quickly as possible. Ultimately, I am confident that nothing would make that outcome more likely than a clear signal from President Putin, from the very top, that Russia supports the cessation of hostilities in eastern Ukraine and that Russia believes that the groups in the Donbas who have taken up arms need to satisfy their political concerns by working inside the structures of Ukrainian democracy and institutions.”
