Kiev, Ukraine. Despite being told previously that US participation in the Minsk process is unwarranted and not a part of agreements between the parties, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister continues to pester US Secretary of State Tillerson to intervene and become a permanent party to the Minsk process.
The United States might join the Normandy format of negotiations on a peaceful settlement of the Donbass conflict, Kiev television channels quoted Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin as saying.
American political experts were thunderstruck by Klimkin’s statements, given Tillerson was recently asking other foreign ministers at the G-7 meeting in Italy just weeks ago, “who cares about Ukraine ? I don’t get it.”
“The US might join Ukraine, Germany and France in the Normandy format negotiations with Russia, but what is really important is efficiency of these negotiations rather than their format,” Klimkin said.
Kiev has been under closer Trump Administration scrutiny, since it’s Minister of Defense Turchynov recently stated that the Minsk Agreements were a “ruse” and used by Kiev to delay, stall and prevent an end to the Donbass war, so more American aid in weapons and cash, would continue to the Poroshenko administration Klimkin represents.
Klimkin will stay in Washington DC until Wednesday evening, when US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is scheduled to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to discuss Ukraine and Syria. Klimkin expects Tillerson to act as Ukraine’s advocate in the negotiations with Russia, the television channel said.
The United States are showing signs of no longer trusting Kiev blindly, and have been taking steps to go around Kiev in possible Donbass settelment talks. Going even as far as preparing to appoint a special US State Department envoy to manage the US position on Donbass.