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Leaked U.S. phone call about Ukraine draws anger from Russia, EU
A taped and leaked telephone conversation between two U.S. politicians about the future of Ukrainian politics -- which included an explicit comment about the European Union -- has caused a diplomatic flap, exacerbating tensions between the United States and Russia.
Reuters reported Friday that German Chancellor Angela Merkel found the comment
"absolutely unacceptable," according to a spokeswoman for the chancellor. She also expressed support for the EU and its foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton.
The phone recording features voices resembling those of Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt
discussing strategies for Ukraine, where anti-government protests have continued since November. The conversation appears to have taken place in late January, when
opposition leaders rejected Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych's offer of cabinet positions.
The audio was anonymously posted on YouTube Tuesday under the heading "Puppets of Maidan" -- referring to Kiev's Maidan Square, which protesters are still occupying. In the video, voices attributed to Nuland and Pyatt talk about the merits of the opposition's leaders and the possible role of the United Nations in helping to resolve the situation.
In the conversation, the voice reported to be Nuland's
says that Arseniy Yatseniuk, one of the opposition's leaders, has "got the economic experience, the governing experience" and should join Yanukovych's cabinet. She argues that two of the other leaders, Oleh Tyahnybok and former boxer Vitaly Klitschko, should remain on the outside and offer advice to Yatseniuk. None of the three accepted government positions.
At one point, the voice resembling Nuland's says the United Nations could "help glue this thing" and uses an expletive about the EU.
Jen Psaki, a U.S. State Department spokeswoman, did not dispute the authenticity of the recording, but suggested that
Russia had a hand in its release.
"Certainly, we think this is a new low in Russian tradecraft," she said.
A link to the YouTube video
was posted on Twitter by Dmitry Loskutov, an aide to Russia's deputy prime minister. Loskutov later interacted with a New York Times reporter on Twitter, saying that "disseminating started earlier" and that he first saw the video on a "social network."
On Thursday, White House spokesperson Jay Carney
also suggested that Russia was involved in the recording. "I think it says something about Russia's role," he said.
A taped and leaked telephone conversation about the future of Ukrainian politics between two U.S. politicians has caused a diplomatic flap, exacerbating tensions between the United States and Russia. The phone recording features voices resembling those of Assistant Secretary of State Victoria...
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