Poroshenko’s advisor: Ukraine and the US have common interests but that can change at any time
Ukraine can count on political support from the United States under the new leadership, however there shouldn’t be any illusions, believes the director of the National Institute for Strategic Studies, presidential adviser Volodymyr Horbulin.
He discussed this in an interview with Dzerkalo Tyzhnia newspaper, as reported by Interfax-Ukraine.
"Can Kurt Volker ‘reset’ American policy towards Ukraine? He makes a strong impression. It is obvious that he has an absolutely clear and realistic understanding of what is happening in Ukraine, and he knows what steps should be taken to solve the issue. However, the current political reality in the United States is more like the sandbox of the Greek goddess Eris than the unconventional model with the "one vote" policy, including in matters of foreign policy," Horbulin said. According to the expert, such problems are connected with the issue of granting Ukraine lethal defensive weapons.
"If Barack Obama took an explicit position "to promise to think about it, but in no case to give," now ... when Trump is still in search of solutions (including the Ukrainian situation), the corridor of opportunities to provide such assistance are substantially expanded. However even if such help is provided (which would be really important for us in the military sense), the main result would be more of a political one," Horbulin said.
He also noted that for Ukraine, military assistance from the US is "primarily a symbol of the fact that the US is actively involved in Ukrainian affairs, a symbol of fulfilling the charter on strategic partnership and a sign to European countries that it's time to move on to active action."
At the same time, the expert believes, the idea of lethal weapons in Ukraine "resembles a magical spell considered by many to be a panacea for all Ukrainian problems," while the lion's share of these problems is in a different sphere, which is "the effective management of the national security sector, combating corruption, effective reforms, and economic growth."
Horbulin said that it is essential to remember the important aspects of US-Ukraine relations, pointing out that now "the national interests of Ukraine and the US foreign policy interests coincide."
"However, this does not mean that it will be so permanently, or that decisions that will be good for US foreign policy will prove equally good for the national interests of our country," Horbulin said.
Analyzing the situation with the new US sanctions against Russia, Horbulin noted that they are "very serious and will lead to a gradual systemic collapse of the current Russian economic model."
On Monday, the US Special Representative for Ukraine, Kurt Volker will meet with Russian presidential aide, Vladislav Surkov, in Minsk.
Earlier, US State Department has released a request for proposals for the supply of non-lethal weapons to Ukraine.