Oleksandr Danyliuk, who resigned as secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council in late September, believes that the scandal around former US Vice President Joe Biden has put Kiev in a "very tricky" situation on all fronts
KIEV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th October, 2019) Oleksandr Danyliuk, who resigned as secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council in late September, believes that the scandal around former US Vice President Joe Biden has put Kiev in a "very tricky" situation on all fronts.
In September, the Democrats-controlled House of Representatives launched an impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump, accusing him of using his political office to strong-arm a foreign nation, namely Ukraine, into digging dirt on Democratic frontrunner Biden. Trump has slammed it as a coup, arguing that president has powers to ask foreign help to investigate corruption, as he says was the case when he requested newly-elected Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a July call to probe Joe Biden's son, who joined a leading Ukrainian gas company's board after the 2014 Maidan events.
Zelenskyy, in turn, assured Trump in the July call that Ukraine's next prosecutor general would be "100 percent my person" and would look into the Biden case.
"The scandal in the United States, in which Ukraine, unfortunately, got involved, does not contribute to the firmness of our position. It is vital to think how to convert it into a strong position. It will be very difficult, it will require teamwork and professionalism ... The publication of the transcript has become another spoon of tar [in a barrel of honey - Russian proverb]. Still, this kind of conversations should remain confidential ... The situation is very tricky. And, before starting any initiatives now, we must understand that the situation has changed," Danyliuk said in an interview with the Levy Bereg media outlet, published on Wednesday.
According to the former senior official, Kiev cannot make a choice between the Republicans and Democrats because there is a "strong bipartisan support" in Ukraine.
Since Zelenskyy in the high-profile call also fully agreed with Trump's remark that Germany and France did "almost nothing" for Ukraine, Kiev, Danyliuk warns, should now have to take into account that this claim has hurt Berlin and Paris.
"Earlier, they used to feel a sort of guilt complex for their failure to stop aggression [against Ukraine]. Now it has been replaced by resentment. Only time can fix it," he said.
Ukraine therefore should now make efforts to restore these relations, doing it at the highest level, the former national security chief concluded.
