Media: Washington will not recall ambassador Yovanovitch from Ukraine amid 'do-not prosecute list' scandal
The United States cannot leave Ukraine unattended or in the care of a new ambassador.
According to Mirror Weekly article by journalist Tatyana Silina, contrary to the rumors that are being disseminated across the Ukrainian media, Washington is not going to immediately withdraw its ambassador from Kyiv because of the current scandal. On the contrary, the US State Department is persuading her to stay in Ukraine at least until the summer, although the family circumstances require Marie Yovanovitch to return to the US.
Silina writes that Washington cannot leave Ukraine unattended or in the care of a new ambassador, who would need time to understand all the intricacies of the Ukrainian political reality, right after the presidential elections and several months before the parliamentary elections. Especially, when some more ambassadors of influential western countries are preparing to leave Kyiv soon.
“Therefore, Marie Yovanovitch will stay for now. We can only guess what her mood is though,” noted Silina. “However, stormy feelings overwhelm not only her.
According to numerous sources of Mirror Weekly, the State Department is not just angry, it is furious. The United States political machine never forgives anyone for such “escapades”.
"It is the end for Yuryi [ Yuri Lutsenko, the Prosecutor General of Ukraine],” Mirror Weekly cities one of its well-informed sources.
“However, this story is not about poor Yuryik [ Yuri Lutsenko]. In this situation, he was just a messenger," summarized Silina.
On March 20, Ukrainian Persecutor General Yuri Lutsenko told the Hill.TV in an interview that
U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch gave him a do not prosecute list during their first meeting.
Lutsenko also said that the US failed to provide about $4 million in funds that were initially promised to his office.
The US state Department denied Lutsenko’s claims.
"The allegations by the Ukrainian prosecutor-general are not true and are intended to tarnish the reputation of Ambassador Yovanovitch. Such attacks redouble our resolve to help Ukraine win the struggle against corruption " reported Radio Liberty with reference to the US State Department statement.