The current turning point requires not only the rebuilding of ‘bridges’ between the US and Ukraine, but also unity within NATO and the entire West. This was stated by Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Chairman of the Kyiv Security Forum and Prime Minister of Ukraine from 2014 to 2016, during an appearance on the British Times Radio.
The conversation was prompted by the US administration’s unprecedented decision to allow Russia to sell diesel to the American market. “The US President has effectively decided to lift sanctions and allow the Russians to sell diesel fuel to the US. This will in no way affect the price per gallon at American petrol stations, but it has had a major impact on the overall sanctions policy. And this is a huge geopolitical victory for Putin,” Yatsenyuk noted.
Against this backdrop, Yatsenyuk emphasised, there is more at stake than just bilateral relations. “We need to do more than simply ‘rebuild bridges’ between the US and Ukraine. We need to repair relations within NATO and within the West. Many people, even in the UK, are asking directly: whose side are the Americans on now, and can we rely on the US? So this is a very complex, pivotal moment,” KSF Chairman emphasised.
He expressed confidence that it is possible to persuade Washington to return to Ukraine’s side, as this is what the American people want. “The overwhelming majority of Americans support Ukraine. 55% believe that the US should increase or maintain its level of support, whilst 70% believe that Ukrainians are on the right side in this war and that Russia is an enemy of the US. The decisions taken [by the US administration] contradict the national security interests of the United States, as Russia is an enemy of the US and a close ally of China, North Korea and Iran,” Yatsenyuk pointed out.