This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/09/ukraine-prime-minister-visit-washington-crimea
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Ukrainian prime minister will visit White House to discuss Crimea | Ukrainian prime minister will visit White House to discuss Crimea |
| (6 months later) | |
| Arseny Yatseniuk, the prime minister of Ukraine’s fledgling government, will visit Washington on Wednesday, the White House has confirmed, as the crisis over the seizure by Russian forces of the Crimean peninsula continues. | Arseny Yatseniuk, the prime minister of Ukraine’s fledgling government, will visit Washington on Wednesday, the White House has confirmed, as the crisis over the seizure by Russian forces of the Crimean peninsula continues. |
| Yatseniuk revealed the Washington trip, in which he will visit the White House, at a government meeting in Kiev on Sunday, saying it was aimed at “resolving the situation unfolding in our bilateral and multilateral relations”. It will involve “top-level meetings”, he said, though the White House has yet to make clear whether that would include an audience with President Barack Obama. | Yatseniuk revealed the Washington trip, in which he will visit the White House, at a government meeting in Kiev on Sunday, saying it was aimed at “resolving the situation unfolding in our bilateral and multilateral relations”. It will involve “top-level meetings”, he said, though the White House has yet to make clear whether that would include an audience with President Barack Obama. |
| Obama’s press secretary, Jay Carney, said on Sunday the visit would highlight “the strong support of the United States for the people of Ukraine, who have demonstrated inspiring courage and resilience through recent times of crisis”. | Obama’s press secretary, Jay Carney, said on Sunday the visit would highlight “the strong support of the United States for the people of Ukraine, who have demonstrated inspiring courage and resilience through recent times of crisis”. |
| Top of the agenda will be the search for a peaceful solution to Russia’s military intervention in Crimea, Carney said, as well as economic support for the new Ukrainian government. | Top of the agenda will be the search for a peaceful solution to Russia’s military intervention in Crimea, Carney said, as well as economic support for the new Ukrainian government. |
| The European Union has already offered Ukraine at least $15bn in aid, and the US a further $1bn. | The European Union has already offered Ukraine at least $15bn in aid, and the US a further $1bn. |
| With Russia defiant over its intervention in Crimea, the Yatseniuk visit underscores the difficult discussions held between the new Ukrainian government, European capitals and the White House about next steps in the clash with President Vladimir Putin. So far, Western leaders have been hoping that a combination of public condemnation and economic sanctions will turn the Russian leader away from his belligerent course, though so far there is little sign of that succeeding. | |
| Tony Blinken, Obama’s deputy national security adviser, warned on Sunday that the sanctions regime that was announced last Thursday had been specifically designed so it could be tightened in the face of Russian intransigence over Crimea. | Tony Blinken, Obama’s deputy national security adviser, warned on Sunday that the sanctions regime that was announced last Thursday had been specifically designed so it could be tightened in the face of Russian intransigence over Crimea. |
| Speaking on CNN’s State of the Union, he said: “We’ve put in place a very flexible and tough mechanism to increase the sanctions, so if Russia makes the wrong choice going forward we have a way to exert significant pressure, as do our partners.” | Speaking on CNN’s State of the Union, he said: “We’ve put in place a very flexible and tough mechanism to increase the sanctions, so if Russia makes the wrong choice going forward we have a way to exert significant pressure, as do our partners.” |
| But as the standoff in Crimea drags on, Obama is facing a growing chorus of criticism, even from within his own party. Chris Coons, the Democratic US senator for Delaware, has said that the Ukraine crisis was in part a product of the president’s track record in foreign policy. | But as the standoff in Crimea drags on, Obama is facing a growing chorus of criticism, even from within his own party. Chris Coons, the Democratic US senator for Delaware, has said that the Ukraine crisis was in part a product of the president’s track record in foreign policy. |
| “I frankly think this is partly a result of our perceived weakness because of our actions in Syria,” Coons said. | “I frankly think this is partly a result of our perceived weakness because of our actions in Syria,” Coons said. |
| On Sunday Mike Rogers, the Republican chair of the House of Representatives intelligence committee, told ABC’s This Week: “We shouldn’t underestimate the kind of things [Putin] will do that he thinks is in Russia’s best interests. | On Sunday Mike Rogers, the Republican chair of the House of Representatives intelligence committee, told ABC’s This Week: “We shouldn’t underestimate the kind of things [Putin] will do that he thinks is in Russia’s best interests. |
| “I think up to date we thought it was a different century and the administration thought ‘Well, if we just act nice everyone else will act nice with us. And that’s unfortunately just not the way Putin sees the rest of the world.” | “I think up to date we thought it was a different century and the administration thought ‘Well, if we just act nice everyone else will act nice with us. And that’s unfortunately just not the way Putin sees the rest of the world.” |
| Blinken dismissed the charge. “The notion that this is about Syria makes very little sense to me,” he said. “This is not about what we do, this is about Russia and its perceived interests, and we have made it very clear there is a choice Russia will have to make,” he said. | Blinken dismissed the charge. “The notion that this is about Syria makes very little sense to me,” he said. “This is not about what we do, this is about Russia and its perceived interests, and we have made it very clear there is a choice Russia will have to make,” he said. |
| So far, Moscow has reacted to US-led sanctions with disdain. Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, told his US counterpart, John Kerry, that sanctions “would inevitably hit the United States like a boomerang”. | So far, Moscow has reacted to US-led sanctions with disdain. Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, told his US counterpart, John Kerry, that sanctions “would inevitably hit the United States like a boomerang”. |