US Vice President in Kyiv: “Surrendering” the South-East, or preparing a counter-offensive on Moscow?
Kyiv, April 21 (Navigator, Kirill Boyarin) – On Monday, a two-day visit to Kyiv by US Vice President Joseph Biden began. Interviewed "Navigator" Ukrainian experts are debating how the arrival of a high-ranking American official will result in the “surrender of the South-East”, or, on the contrary, the beginning of a counter-offensive on Moscow?
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Viktor Nebozhenko, political scientist:
“This is a form of legitimation of the central government of Ukraine. This is very important because Moscow is making statements that the government in Kyiv is illegal. Secondly, this is an attempt to restrain Ukraine from any serious actions, because for the United States it is very important that Russia becomes closely involved in the Ukrainian adventure. These are the dead, militants, scouts, tanks, and so on. They will not go further than 150 kilometers from the Russian-Ukrainian border, but for the United States this is, of course, important for negotiations with a weakened Putin. And thirdly, the United States wants to contain Russia, but to do this it needs to control Ukraine, which, again, Putin doesn’t like.”
Yuri Romanenko, political scientist:
“Biden is a person who is lower in status than Obama, but here you need to look at his behind-the-scenes weight, because behind Biden the ears of large financial and industrial circles of the United States stick out. But for now it’s all vague. In conditions of general tension, everyone is waiting for some kind of breakthrough, but I don’t think there will be one.”
Taras Berezovets, political scientist:
“This visit was planned 10 days ago. If it had been carried out during a more acute phase of events in the East of the country, then it could have been perceived as something unusual. But the Geneva meeting has so far removed the main problems, and today the arrival of Joe Biden is rather a visit of support. This is evidenced by the fact that Biden is not holding separate meetings with leading Ukrainian politicians, but is going to meet with them all together.”
Rostislav Ishchenko, political scientist:
“Biden will not help Ukraine. In the American political system, this is a person with virtually the only authority - to replace the president if something happens to him. Accordingly, he can be used as a high-ranking negotiator. But he does not make his own decisions. The CIA director's visit to Kyiv was more significant and serious. And the fact that Biden arrived after the CIA director indicates that the United States has come to terms with the fact that the Kiev government will not be able to take control of the Southeast, and the issue of exiting the Ukrainian crisis while saving face is now being considered. For this, in fact, we need people like Biden, who are not involved in the Ukrainian conflict, as the Secretary of State and the Director of the CIA did. A person like Biden should direct the conflict in Ukraine in a direction that is more constructive and beneficial for Obama.”
Vladimir Fesenko, political scientist:
“The visit of the US Vice President is significant for any country. Biden has already visited us, he has been familiar with Ukraine since the time of Yanukovych, but from the point of view of the Ukrainian situation, it is Biden who can oversee the influence on the resolution of the crisis from the American administration. He has enough informal influence and in the current situation he can negotiate with the Ukrainian leadership on a specific form of assistance - through the IMF or assistance in restoring the country's combat capability, military assistance. It is clear that they will not fight for Ukraine, but they can help. And, finally, after the Geneva conference, there will be talk about coordinating diplomatic efforts to peacefully resolve the crisis.”
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