Why Isn’t Secretary Of State Blinken Embarrassed? Last Week, European Parliament President. This Week, Austrian Chancellor, EC President, EU Foreign Minister Visit Kyiv. Where Is U.S. Leadership?
Politico
Arlington, Virginia
5 April 2022
“European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell [High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the Commission for a Stronger Europe in the World] will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv this week, an EU spokesman said Tuesday. “President von der Leyen and High Representative Josep Borrell will travel this week to Kyiv to meet President Zelenskyy,” Commission chief spokesman Eric Mamer wrote on Twitter, confirming a statement on Monday by Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša.
The visit to the Ukrainian capital will take place before Saturday, when von der Leyen is set to attend a Stand Up For Ukraine event in Warsaw, Mamer added. The event, jointly organized by the Commission president and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, will raise money for Ukrainian refugees.
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola met with the Ukrainian leadership in Kyiv on Friday. Meanwhile, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer will also visit Kyiv later “in the next few” days following a call with Zelenskyy on Monday night, according to an official statement.
The aim of the meeting would be “to continue to provide Ukraine with the best possible humanitarian aid and political support,” it read. Last month, three of central Europe’s prime ministers — Poland’s Mateusz Morawiecki, the Czech Republic’s Petr Fiala and Slovenia’s Janša — also traveled to Kyiv to meet Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. In the run-up to that visit, Zelenskyy invited other world leaders to come, writing on social media that he wanted “all friends of Ukraine to visit Kyiv.””
Issue Insight Background
On 2 March 2022, shared about discussions for a visit by senior-level government officials from the European Union (EU) discussing a visit to Kyiv. “Discussions within some capitals include a proposal for delegations of senior-level government officials traveling (by air or rail) to Kyiv and then disperse throughout the city, which is an essential component of the proposal. Then daring the Russian Federation to harm them. There is an increasing belief that large delegations of senior leadership from European Union (EU) member countries (and perhaps others) would require the Russian Federation to pause military activities. Ponder the optics of motorcades carrying foreign ministers traversing the city of Ukraine- with the Russian Federation military planners not knowing where they would be from moment to moment. And, the motorcades of media representatives following along…It’s a high risk, high reward proposition and an optically effective strategy.”
That visit happened on 15 March 2022, led by the Prime Ministers of Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovenia, along with a Deputy Prime Minister of Poland. All EU members and all member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). They rode a train from Poland to Lviv and onto Kyiv. Impressive. This is a significant gesture as the original discussions were to have a group of foreign ministers make the journey.
The Biden-Harris Administration (2021- ) sacrificed once again an opportunity to do more than an official prancing about the pole that marks the border of Poland with Ukraine, as United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken did- wearing his navy blazer.
Mrs. Samantha Power, the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is thought of as media-savvy (and some share media-hungry)- a former journalist and former Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations during the Obama-Biden Administration (2009-2017). USAID should have an office in Lviv, Ukraine. Administrator Power should travel to Lviv and to Kyiv.
Do expect senior-level officials of the Biden-Harris Administration to visit Kyiv once the war has ended… How helpful.
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