"On the July 25 (2019) phone call between Trump and Zelensky, in which Trump urged him [President Zelensky] to investigate the Bidens, Trump disparaged his former ambassador, saying she was "bad news and the people she was dealing with in the Ukraine were bad news so I just want to let you know that," according to a rough transcript released by the White House."I agree with you 100%," Zelensky responded.
Yovanovitch, a career member of the Foreign Service who has served in ambassadorships under three presidents, was sworn in as ambassador to Ukraine in August 2016." (Jeremy Herb, Manu Raju and Lauren Fox : CNN : 12 October 2019) (my emphasis)
Trump promptly sacked Marie Yovanovich from her diplomatic post as the US ambassador to Ukraine.
Ignoring the White House demand that she not testifies before Congress, Marie Yovanovitch testified before closed-door US Congress Committees yesterday (14 Oct 2019) outlining just how Trump and some of his acolytes illegally circumvented normal US State Department channels to obtain 'conspiracy theory' information on Joe Biden's son, who served as a board member on the Ukraine gas company, Burisma.
It is now strangely 'co-incidental' that Ukraine´s Prosecutor General, Ruslan Ryaboshapka (right)" ... who has promised to root out corruption and political favoritism in his office, said Friday that his staff will review all previous cases concerning a gas company [Burisma] at the heart of the impeachment inquiry into President Trump’s dealings with Ukraine.
The decision by prosecutor Ruslan Ryaboshapka does not open the criminal investigation Trump wants against Joe Biden and his son Hunter, who was a board member of the gas company, Burisma." (Will Englund : Washington Post : 4 October 2019) (my emphasis) (cf. also : Geoff Earle and Emily Goodin : Mail Online : 4 Oct. 2019)
No doubt to the utter consternation of President Zelensky, the now emerging avalanche of criminal behaviour of those who desperately tried to confirm Trump's 'conspiracy theory' about the Biden's puts into sharp focus the words of Trump that, "[Marie Yovanovich] was bad news", and Zelensky must now wish that he never responded with the words, "I agree with you 100%".
MSNBC : 14 October 2019
What is now emerging in the US about Trump 'shaking down' Zelensky during that fateful July 25th call between them is also directly affecting Zelensky's attempt to ride roughshod over the Minsk2 protocols regarding elections in the Donbas in favour, instead, of the "mythical Steinmeier Formula".
As reported by UAWire,
"Foreign Minister of Ukraine Vadym Prystayko (left) believes that the Kremlin's lack of interest is preventing negotiations in the Normandy format. He said this during the "Freedom of Speech" broadcast."So far, I do not see that Russia is interested in the meeting. The meeting is getting postponed further and further," the Foreign Minister said.
According to him, a new set of dates for negotiations is being suggested, but Russia has not yet declared its readiness to meet in the format of the Normandy Summit.
He pinpointed the previous reasons for postponing the meeting in the Normandy format, including the technical impossibility of Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend the summit, as well as the Kremlin's desire to continue the military conflict in eastern Ukraine." (UAWire : 8 October, 2019) (my emphasis)
And let us not forget Merkel and Macron who, according to the former General of Ukraine's Army Mykola Malomuzh (right),
"... German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron are ready for concessions, but at the same time, he expressed confidence that this will not solve the military conflict in the Donbas." (UAWire : 14 October 2019) (my emphasis)As also reported by UNIAN,
- Deputy Head of the Ukrainian President's Office Yuriy Kostyuk says the disengagement of troops in the town of Zolote (Luhansk region, eastern Ukraine) is impossible without a sustainable ceasefire, so the consideration of the issue has been postponed. (15 October 2019) (my emphasis)
- Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Monday said the question of returning Crimea to the Normandy Four or any other format of talks "is off the table," according to an UNIAN correspondent in Russia. (15 October 2019) (my emphasis)
- Russian occupation forces in Donbas 21 times violated the ceasefire on October 13. No casualties have been reported among Ukrainian military, according to the press center of the Joint Forces Operation. (14 October 2019) (my emphasis)
- Ukraine has sent a note of protest to Turkey over the meeting of President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan with so-called "Crimean lawmakers" Natalia Poklonskaya and Ruslan Balbek. (13 October 2019) (my emphasis)
Zelensky is now discovering, as the former Prime Minister of the UK, Harold Wilson, once said,
"A week is a long time in politics"
(to be continued)
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