RT.com
27 Jan 2023, 06:13 GMT+10
State Department official with ties to Ukraine laid out the unlikely scenario to the US Senate
Washington might consider lifting sanctions if Moscow withdraws troops from Ukraine and hands over all territory claimed by Kiev, US Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday. She added that in her opinion Russian President Vladimir Putin is guilty of war crimes.
During the hearing on the ongoing conflict, Nuland said she believed Ukraine could defeat Russia, noting that "Ukraine will define what winning is."
Kentucky Republican Rand Paul asked Nuland at one point if she favored lifting some sanctions against Russian officials in the interest of diplomacy. Paul reminded Nuland she had been sanctioned by Russia herself, which was resolved before her 2021 visit to Moscow.
"In the context of a Russian decision to negotiate seriously and withdraw its forces from Ukraine and return territory, I would certainly favor - and I believe Secretary [Antony] Blinken would also favor - sanctions relief," Nuland replied, misunderstanding Paul's point.
When Paul explained he was talking about limited sanctions relief for the sake of diplomacy, the State Department's number four official said Washington should "look hard" at what can be done "if it is in the US interest for there to be conversations with Russians."
Nuland also insisted that Putin is "certainly guilty of prosecuting war crimes," prompting Paul to ask how serious the State Department was about peace, if it insisted on what amounted to unconditional surrender.
"I would cite the precedent of Kosovo, of Bosnia, of Rwanda, where we have successfully supported wars winding down through diplomatic means while also pursuing justice," Nuland replied.
The US led military interventions in both Bosnia and Kosovo in the 1990s, with NATO troops physically occupying both territories and serving as enforcers for a Washington-funded ad-hoc tribunal. The US and its allies have been looking for ways to apply the Yugoslav precedent to Russia, though Washington itself rejects the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.
Nuland first came into the spotlight in December 2013, when she endorsed nationalist protesters at Kiev's Maidan square by delivering them snacks. Two months later, in February 2014, a recording emerged of her discussing who should run Ukraine with the US ambassador in Kiev Geoffrey Pyatt. Nuland was famously dismissive of the EU and talked about then-VP Joe Biden helping "midwife this thing" with the UN.
Three weeks later, Ukrainian nationalists would overthrow the elected government and put in charge the very people Nuland had discussed with Pyatt.
(RT.com)
Get a daily dose of Colorado Star news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Colorado Star.
More InformationBEIJING, California: As the world's second-largest economy is still struggling to fully recover from the long-term effects of COVID-19, most ...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Deposits at small U.S. banks throughout the country dropped the most since 2007 after the ...
DETROIT, Michigan: In a briefing for investors and analysts this week, Ford Motor Co. reported that while its electric vehicle ...
LONDON, England: Reuters has reported that struggling Virgin Orbit, owned by billionaire Richard Branson, is nearing a $200-million investment deal ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The US Commerce Department has proposed new laws aimed at preventing China and other countries deemed of concern ...
MEXICO CITY, Mexico: Amid Tesla's plan to open a $5 billion Gigafactory in the country, Mexico will soon become an ...
UVLADE, Texas: Texas police stopped a Florida-bound freight train this week and discovered two migrants had died in a freight ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: To address summer airport congestion and low air traffic controller staffing levels, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said ...
OTTAWA, Canada: After a meeting between Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and US President Joe Biden, Ottawa has pledged to ...
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras: In what could signal the end of his country's decades-long relations with Taiwan, Honduran foreign minister Eduardo Enrique ...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Deposits at small U.S. banks throughout the country dropped the most since 2007 after the ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: A new US Congressional committee focusing on China held its second hearing on the alleged abuses of the ...