Senior U.S. Diplomat to Visit Ukraine
The second most senior U.S. diplomat, Deputy Secretary of State William Burns, will visit Kiev Tuesday to support the new Ukrainian leadership and call for swift political and economic reform.
Monday's announcement makes Burns the highest-ranking Washington envoy to travel to the crisis-hit country since U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland met with anti-government protesters in December.
The trip was first mentioned by a U.S. diplomat on Friday, indicating it was planned before a chaotic weekend that saw now ousted president Viktor Yanukovych go into hiding.
No high-ranking U.S. official was in the ex-Soviet republic over the past few days or last week, when three months of protests over Yanukovych's decision to spurn an historic pact with the European Union in favor of closer ties with Russia culminated in days of carnage.
In Kiev, Burns "will consult with key Ukrainian leaders, the business community, and civil society on U.S. support for Ukraine's efforts to secure a stable, democratic, inclusive, prosperous future," the State Department said.
Over the course of his Tuesday to Wednesday visit, Burns is due to meet with acting president Oleksandr Turchynov, among other officials.
Burns "will urge the rapid formation of a national unity government that represents the wide array of stakeholders in Ukraine's domestic political discourse, and encourage immediate steps to undertake the critical reforms necessary to restore Ukraine's political and economic health," according to the State Department.
Ukraine has been reeling from both political and financial crises that threatened to splinter the nation of 46 million between its pro-Western and more Russified regions, and bring about a devastating default.
Burns will be accompanied by representatives of the Treasury and National Economic Council "who will work in concert with partners such as the EU and IMF (International Monetary Fund) to discuss needed financial support while a new government implements the difficult steps necessary to reform the economy."
On Monday, Ukraine appealed for $35 billion in Western aid as it issued an arrest warrant for Yanukovych, accusing him of "mass murder." Clashes between authorities and protesters last week claimed almost 100 lives.
Meanwhile, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton arrived in Kiev for a two-day visit as Moscow denounced Kiev's new reformist team as illegitimate.
Source: Agence France Presse
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://mobile.naharnet.com/stories/en/120043 |