U.S. Embraces EU Leadership on Ukraine It Recently Cursed

[Purveyor]

By Terry Atlas Feb 20, 2014 12:00 AM ET

Two weeks ago, Victoria Nuland, the top U.S. diplomat for Europe, apologized for using a profanity in an intercepted phone call as she faulted the European Union for not moving fast enough to address the crisis in Ukraine.

Now the U.S. is looking to the EU to take the lead in formulating a tough response after the standoff between President Viktor Yanukovych and anti-government protesters exploded into violence, stirring talk of a civil war.

Secretary of State John Kerry indicated the U.S. is preparing to follow the EU in weighing economic sanctions in response to Yanukovych’s crackdown, which undercut Western efforts to encourage a political compromise in Kiev.

“We are talking about the possibility of sanctions or other steps with our friends in Europe and elsewhere in order to try to create the environment for compromise,” Kerry said yesterday before a meeting in Paris with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.

Violence Spreads in Ukraine

The German, French and Polish foreign ministers were to fly to Kiev yesterday for talks with Yanukovych. Today, EU foreign ministers will meet in Brussels to weigh “all possible options,” including “restrictive measures against those responsible for repression,” EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said in an e-mailed statement.

more...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-20/u-s-embraces-eu-leadership-on-ukraine-it-recently-cursed.html

[TwilightGardener]

1. I hope people don't mistake Nuland for the U.S. She's just a dumbshit who

should have known better than to A: talk on unsecured cell phones and B: say stupid things like "Fuck the EU" when they play a more vital role in this Ukraine fiasco than the United States does--or should.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

2. Must things always be framed in anti-American way by some people here?

[Purveyor]

3. Perhaps because some people do not like the current "American way" when

it comes to foreign policy/foreign intervention.

Yes, I am one of those "some people".

[Pretzel_Warrior]

4. Oh, that has been clear for a very long time

[Cali_Democrat]

5. Some nobody at the state dept saying "fuck the EU"...

...on a phone call is not an official US position.