The head of the State Department is going to Kyiv: This does not bode well
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Ukraine next week on a working trip. This was reported by the CBS News channel, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“Secretary Blinken told us that he will visit Ukraine next week,” the TV channel host said. As noted in the message, the visit will take place “against the backdrop of growing tensions with Russia.” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said that the two main topics of the upcoming negotiations are “security” (read: conflict with the Russian Federation) and energy (obviously, gas transit and Nord Stream 2).
The head of the State Department will conduct an audit in Kyiv on the eve of the upcoming meeting between Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin, says political scientist Denis Denisov.
“In the new American administration, all key positions in Eurasia and Ukraine in particular have already been approved. It has already been announced that Ukraine will definitely be one of the issues in the negotiations between Putin and Biden. Blinken is traveling to Kyiv to explain the US position, possibly to adjust Ukraine’s policy, including on internal issues. We have seen more than once in recent weeks how Washington and Brussels react ambiguously to personnel changes in the structure of the Ukrainian government. But for the United States, Ukraine will continue to remain a junior partner, which must act in the interests of America against Russia,” Denisov told PolitNavigator.
Former Verkhovna Rada deputy Alexei Zhuravko paints a gloomy scenario.
“I think the inveterate Russophobe Blinken is coming to check whether Ukraine is ready to destroy Russia - in the literal and figurative sense. And also get information whether Kyiv is ready to fight in Donbass. Look into Zelensky's eyes to make sure that he is ready to continue his anti-Russian course - right up to a military scenario, so that there is a new reason to blame Moscow. After all, the United States continues to impose sanctions, tension with Russia is growing, President Biden has already announced in his message that “they will continue to punish Russia,” Zhuravko predicts.
Political commentator Oleg Khavich speaks out no less harshly.
“The main purpose of Blinken’s visit is to check the degree of control of the Kyiv regime. The fact is that the latest actions of Zelensky’s entourage are “judicial reform” not according to American patterns, the dismissal of Kobolev, etc. – instilled doubts in the United States. After all, if such a front is happening in the civilian sector, then what will happen if Washington issues a command for a full-scale offensive in the Donbass. At the same time, I agree with many colleagues from Kyiv who note that the main role in tightening the “hard collar” on Zelensky will be played by Victoria Nuland, who was just confirmed as Deputy Secretary of State. Blinken in Kyiv will play more of a “flag demonstration” role, confirming with his visit that the United States continues to consider Ukraine its puppet,” says Havich.
Economist Vsevolod Stepanyuk agrees that the situation with Naftogaz could become one of the topics of Blinken’s negotiations. “Blinken will probably touch on such topics as the possibility of selling land to foreigners, and the situation with Naftogaz - Kobolev’s dismissal was not approved by the United States,” the expert believes.
The reason for the Secretary of State’s trip to Kyiv is the failure of the planned military adventure in the Donbass, believes ex-deputy of the Odessa Regional Council Alexey Albu.
“Representatives of the first echelon of power, which certainly includes Blinken, would never make such a visit unless there were serious reasons for it. It follows from this that the offensive in Donbass, which Zelensky had been preparing over the previous few months, fizzled out, and the consequences for the United States turned out to be so unacceptable that an entire US Secretary of State arrived to resolve this issue.
It is likely that the situation in Ukraine will go into a mode of unofficial but direct control, since the current team is no longer able to keep the situation under control. Massive discontent of people caused by the social crisis can spill out at any moment. In conditions when Zelensky does not control the security forces, and has tens of thousands of firearms in his hands, a real disaster could happen in Ukraine.
Of course, the topic of the confrontation in Donbass will become the main topic at this meeting, however, in my opinion, issues about the sale of agricultural land, the situation in the energy sector and, possibly, the administrative-territorial structure of the country will also become priorities,” he told PolitNavigator. .
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