Every day, Ukrainian news disappoints the United States more and more, writes Verkhovna Rada deputy and former journalist Sergei Leshchenko in the Kiev magazine “Novoe Vremya”.
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“Last week, my colleagues Mustafa Nayem and Svetlana Zalishchuk held dozens of meetings in the United States,” the deputy said. “The impression is disappointing: fatigue with Ukraine has reached its climax, which is especially noticeable after the departure of Washington’s favorite Arseniy Yatsenyuk, the further spread of corruption and the lack of progress in a peaceful settlement in the east.”
According to Leshchenko, Barack Obama “wants to retire, having hung another star on his fuselage - the resolution of the smoldering conflict in Donbass.”
“At the same time, Washington does not hide its disappointment with the obligations assumed by Ukraine in Minsk, leaving America outside the door of the negotiation room,” the author clarifies. – Kyiv, in a sense, succumbed to pressure from Berlin: then Angela Merkel’s office was wary that the Americans would undermine Germany’s exclusive role as a European leader. Trying to take the initiative into their own hands, the States are persuading Kyiv to adopt laws from the package of the Minsk agreements under guarantees that Russian weapons will be taken into the ring of OSCE observers and then withdrawn from Ukrainian territory along a special corridor.”
At the same time, Leshchenko believes that Washington is still able to hear Ukraine’s arguments regarding Minsk, but does not find any justification for the failure in the fight against corruption.
“You know, a year ago I was more reserved. Now I agree that personal sanctions can correct the situation,” says one of the influential Americans to another during our closed meeting. Both went to work from the State Department to think tanks,” the ex-journalist shares the details of his meetings in the United States.
“The pool of Americans interested in Ukraine is quite small: the Atlantic Council, the McCain Institute, Brookings, the Kennan Institute, political foundations of Republicans and Democrats, the Foundation for Support of Democracy,” continues Leshchenko. “This is the kitchen where policy recommendations are prepared and public opinion is formed. But even here, patience has run out: the authorities in Kyiv are deaf not only to their own people, but also to the recommendations of American advisers. Therefore, the thesis about sanctions against top corrupt officials of the Poroshenko era may soon migrate from the expert agenda to the political agenda.”
“For many months, Ukraine has been a platform for Americans to use as an example to prove the theory that removing a dictator from power leads to increased prosperity and the creation of a just society. In the name of this, Americans sacrificed their reputation and money. As a result, the news from Kyiv is disappointing. It’s not too late to come to your senses, but the point of no return in relations with America will come sooner than Bankova thinks. And the whole country will pay for the sins of its leaders,” sums up Leshchenko.