Vitaliy Syzov writes that,
"Zelenskyy’s critics claim to see growing evidence of Kremlin influence throughout government.
They cite the recent attempts to
"... the former comedian has attempted to emphasize less politically explosive themes such as economic growth, the fight against corruption, and personal freedoms in business and private life. At the same time, he has made the intensification of peace negotiations the number one priority of his presidency." (ibid Vitaliy Syzov) (my emphasis)
That Zelensky's may be failing in his peace negotiations with Putin is best expressed in the words of Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, (left) who recently denied that,
"... Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has underestimated the challenge of achieving peace with Russia.
Talking to DW, Kuleba said Zelenskiy "fully realizes how difficult it is to make a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin and make him withdraw from Ukraine and de-occupy Donbass." (DW : 2 June 2020) (my emphasis)
In his interview on DW (above), Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stated that,
"We understand that the United States is currently in a difficult situation and we support American democracy. We hope that all these issues will be left behind with American standards of Human Rights and democratic government. And I'm absolutely confident that the partnership between the United States and Ukraine can not be shattered."
Whilst true that the US-Ukraine partnership cannot be shattered, nonetheless it is also true that US President Trump has a strange affection for (fear of?) Putin that also cannot be denied.
One merely has to recollect the political fallout of that fateful telephone conversation between Trump and Zelensky in July of last year, Trump's accolytes continuing to try and find Ukrainian 'dirt' on Biden and his son, and Trump vowing that the Biden-Ukraine connection will take centre stage in his current re-election attempt.
It is therefore interesting to note Ilya Zhegulev (left) reporting that,
"An audit of thousands of old case files by Ukrainian prosecutors found no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of Hunter Biden, the former prosecutor general [Ruslan Ryaboshapka (right)] who had launched the audit, told Reuters.
“I specifically asked prosecutors to check especially carefully those facts about Biden’s alleged involvement. They answered that there was nothing of the kind,” he added." (Reuters : 4 June 2020) (my emphasis)
Yet, as reported by Ukraine Today on 20 May 2020,
"Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for an investigation Wednesday of leaked recordings purportedly depicting then-Vice President Joe Biden telling Zelensky’s predecessor Petro Poroshenko that his country would receive U.S. aid once top prosecutor Viktor Shokin was replaced.
...
Andriy Derkach (left), a member of Ukraine’s parliament, released the recordings a day earlier.
...
Derkach was “previously aligned with a pro-Russian faction and has past links to Russian intelligence.” Derkach’s father reportedly worked for the KGB — and was allegedly terminated amid a scandal “over a Ukrainian journalist who was kidnapped and murdered.”
Poroshenko reportedly blamed Russia for the leak, calling the audio “bogus” and seeking an investigation of the leak itself." (Ukraine Today : 20 May 2020) (my emphasis)
As yet we do not know if Zelensky has ordered an investigation into the leak itself.
What we do know is that there has been a "flurry" of calls between Trump and Putin during this Corona-Virus pandemic.
As reported by Julian Borger (left),
"Donald Trump has offered to invite Vladimir Putin to an expanded G7 meeting in September, but the invitation has already been adamantly opposed by the UK and Canada.
...
Trump raised the possibility of inviting Russia on Saturday, after the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, had made clear she would not attend the Camp David summit." (The Guardian : 1 June 2020) (my emphasis)
"Zelenskyy’s critics claim to see growing evidence of Kremlin influence throughout government.
They cite the recent attempts to
- appoint toxic figures with ties to the pro-Russian administration of disgraced ex-president Viktor Yanukovych,
- and question Zelenskyy’s moderate stance on the traditionally thorny issues of language policy and national memory.
- Meanwhile, his one-sided efforts to reinvigorate the stalled peace process through repeated concessions to the Kremlin continue to generate deep suspicion." (Atlantic Council : 4 June 2020) (my emphasis
"... the former comedian has attempted to emphasize less politically explosive themes such as economic growth, the fight against corruption, and personal freedoms in business and private life. At the same time, he has made the intensification of peace negotiations the number one priority of his presidency." (ibid Vitaliy Syzov) (my emphasis)
That Zelensky's may be failing in his peace negotiations with Putin is best expressed in the words of Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, (left) who recently denied that,"... Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has underestimated the challenge of achieving peace with Russia.
Talking to DW, Kuleba said Zelenskiy "fully realizes how difficult it is to make a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin and make him withdraw from Ukraine and de-occupy Donbass." (DW : 2 June 2020) (my emphasis)
In his interview on DW (above), Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stated that,
"We understand that the United States is currently in a difficult situation and we support American democracy. We hope that all these issues will be left behind with American standards of Human Rights and democratic government. And I'm absolutely confident that the partnership between the United States and Ukraine can not be shattered."
Whilst true that the US-Ukraine partnership cannot be shattered, nonetheless it is also true that US President Trump has a strange affection for (fear of?) Putin that also cannot be denied.
One merely has to recollect the political fallout of that fateful telephone conversation between Trump and Zelensky in July of last year, Trump's accolytes continuing to try and find Ukrainian 'dirt' on Biden and his son, and Trump vowing that the Biden-Ukraine connection will take centre stage in his current re-election attempt.
Trump-Zelensky Call (Youtube)
It is therefore interesting to note Ilya Zhegulev (left) reporting that,"An audit of thousands of old case files by Ukrainian prosecutors found no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of Hunter Biden, the former prosecutor general [Ruslan Ryaboshapka (right)] who had launched the audit, told Reuters.
“I specifically asked prosecutors to check especially carefully those facts about Biden’s alleged involvement. They answered that there was nothing of the kind,” he added." (Reuters : 4 June 2020) (my emphasis)
Yet, as reported by Ukraine Today on 20 May 2020,
"Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for an investigation Wednesday of leaked recordings purportedly depicting then-Vice President Joe Biden telling Zelensky’s predecessor Petro Poroshenko that his country would receive U.S. aid once top prosecutor Viktor Shokin was replaced.
...
Andriy Derkach (left), a member of Ukraine’s parliament, released the recordings a day earlier.
...
Derkach was “previously aligned with a pro-Russian faction and has past links to Russian intelligence.” Derkach’s father reportedly worked for the KGB — and was allegedly terminated amid a scandal “over a Ukrainian journalist who was kidnapped and murdered.”
Poroshenko reportedly blamed Russia for the leak, calling the audio “bogus” and seeking an investigation of the leak itself." (Ukraine Today : 20 May 2020) (my emphasis)
As yet we do not know if Zelensky has ordered an investigation into the leak itself.
What we do know is that there has been a "flurry" of calls between Trump and Putin during this Corona-Virus pandemic.
As reported by Julian Borger (left),
"Donald Trump has offered to invite Vladimir Putin to an expanded G7 meeting in September, but the invitation has already been adamantly opposed by the UK and Canada.
...
Trump raised the possibility of inviting Russia on Saturday, after the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, had made clear she would not attend the Camp David summit." (The Guardian : 1 June 2020) (my emphasis)
This invitation extended by Trump towards Putin should be viewed against the backdrop of Trump's falling popularity among the American electorate.
MSNBC : 4 June 2020
Also bear in mind that the upcoming US presidential election is only 5 months away, and Trump is now pulling out all the stops as his administration is beset with public demonstrations across the country.
Indeed, one may ask whether Trump is taking a leaf out of the book of Putin in drastically quelling the right of the public to protest.
MSNBC 4 June 2020
Zelensky should bear in mind that the upcoming US presidential election is in 5 months time.
At this stage, Zelensky's call on 20 May to investigate a "leaked tape" that purportedly implicates Trump's presidential rival, Joe Biden, and that Zelensky said at a news conference in Ukraine that the contents of the leaked conversations “might be perceived, qualified as high treason” (ibid Ukraine Today), can only be viewed as playing Political Roulette, a political act that is potentially very dangerous to himself.
Is Zelensky now playing 'political roulette'?
(to be continued)
At this stage, Zelensky's call on 20 May to investigate a "leaked tape" that purportedly implicates Trump's presidential rival, Joe Biden, and that Zelensky said at a news conference in Ukraine that the contents of the leaked conversations “might be perceived, qualified as high treason” (ibid Ukraine Today), can only be viewed as playing Political Roulette, a political act that is potentially very dangerous to himself.Is Zelensky now playing 'political roulette'?
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