Is Zelensky using elections in the Donbas to divert the eyes of Ukrainians away from his emroilment with Trump?

On 26 September, 2019, I wrote that,

"As that fateful telephone conversation between Zelensky and Trump on the 25th July continues to reverberate around the world, let us pause for a moment and recognize the critical role that a free press has in holding politicians of all stripes accountable for their actions.

Without the freedom  of the press in the USA none of us would be any the wiser of just how Trump saw the struggles of the people of Ukraine as a bargaining chip in his political strategy in the upcoming US 2020 presidential elections." (blog entry 26 Sept. 2019)

A day earlier it was reported by Ian Bateson (right) of The Atlantic that,

"Zelensky and his team .... have openly said they do not need journalists in their efforts to communicate with the public, opting instead for social media and slickly produced “interviews” carried out in-house." (The Atlantic : 25 September 2019) (my emphasis)

Even earlier, DW (Deutsche Welle) reported that,

"Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andriy Bohdan (left), argues that journalists—who he said are corrupt and need to “purify” themselves, in an interview with BBC News Ukrainian—are no longer necessary, and has said that a press conference with Zelensky will take place “when society demands such a press conference.” ...  His argument is essentially that journalists have no role in deciding what the people want, and provide only one microphone of many the government can choose from. (ibid Ian Bateson)

Let us also recall that Andriy Bohdan,

"..... previously served as deputy minister of justice and deputy minister in charge of anti-corruption policy under Viktor Yanukovich before the former president fled to Moscow during the Maidan uprising in 2014." (DW (Deutsche Welle) : 21.05.2019) (my emphasis)

Now, at one of those very rare occasions when Zelensky actually faced the press, from his denial of having met with/spoken with Trump's rottweiler, Rudy Giuliani, we get a glimpse of why Andriy Bohdan must be keeping Zelensky away from having press interviews.

 Richard Engel (left) asks Zelensky if he ever met with or was approached by Rudi Giuliani.

Zelensky's curt reply was,

" I never met with Rudy Giuliani .. never ... And never had any phone calls with him ..."(MSNBC : 1 October 2019) (my emphasis)

Richard Engel also asked Ukraine's previous Foreign Secretary for five years, Pavlo Klimkin (right), what he thought of this mission ... this exploration mission of Rudy Giuliani, to which Klimkin responded,

"I never met Giuliani, and nobody from the Foreign Ministry ever met Giuliani. But of course I heard about different kind of meetings about his attempts and his efforts to reach out to people here in Ukraine and I would say it was seen with quite a suspicion here ..." (ibid Richard Engel)

As much as Zelensky may be trying to extricate himself from that "quid pro quo" gun that Trump was pointing at his head during their call on 25th July, 2019, the speed with which Trump's impending impeachment is now occurring, because of that call, is now blowing up in Zelensky's face.

As Nicole Gaouette, Jennifer Hansler and Kylie Atwood report,

"As the Ukraine saga unfolds, a third former career official who has spent decades in the department echoed others in describing a deep unease among staff about "having to do things that border on the political defense of the President, rather than executing American foreign policy consistent with their oath of office." (CNN : 6 October 2019) (my emphasis)

MSNBC : (3 October 2019)

Ironically, this saga may indeed be giving Zelensky "a shiny object" with which to divert the attention of the Ukrainian people away from the concessions he is giving Putin over elections in the Donbas.

Recall that Zelensky has,

 " ... provisionally agreed to hold local elections in the occupied territories of its two easternmost regions once all armed formations leave the area and control is regained over about 400 kilometers of borderland with Russia.  (RFERL : 2 October 2019) (my emphasis)

These elections will be held according to what has become known as the "Steinmeier Formula".

As reported in the Kyiv Post,

"Members of the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine – Ukraine, Russia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe on Oct. 1 agreed to a peace process known as the “Steinmeier Formula,” green-lighting local elections in the Russian-controlled regions of Donbas." (Kyiv Post : 1 October 2019) (my emphasis)

This "Steinmeier Formula" is being hotly contested. Indeed, the very existence of this "formula" has been brought into question.

According to Petro Poroshenko, former president of Ukraine,

"Petro Poroshenko, Ukraine's ex-president, MP from European Solidarity faction said that the Steinmeier formula did not exist. He stated this at the Rendez-vous show on Channel 5 on September 21.

"No Steinmeier agreement exists in nature. There is no Steinmeier agreement. There is no Steinmeier formula supposedly agreed with someone," Poroshenko said." (112 UA : 22 September 2019) (my emphasis)

So the question is :-

"Is Zelensky now using elections in the Donbas to divert the eyes of Ukrainians away from his emroilment with Trump?"

(to be continued)

What did Putin and Zelensky agree to during their private telephone conversations?

The tidal wave of exposure of Trump trying to "shake down" Zelensky, like a Mafia boss shaking down a local politician that they have in their pocket, should make Zelensky very wary of he, himself, being seen as also been 'shaken down' by Putin over the holding of elections in the Donbas.

As I reported yesterday (2 October 2019),

"We now also learn that Zelensky has,

" ... provisionally agreed to hold local elections in the occupied territories of its two easternmost regions once all armed formations leave the area and control is regained over about 400 kilometers of borderland with Russia.

At a briefing in Kyiv on October 1, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the agreement, brokered in Minsk with Russia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), paves the way for peace talks with Moscow to end the war in the Donbas that is in its sixth year."

This "agreement" that Zelensky was referring to, known as the "Steinmeier proposals", now turns out to be, in the words of Putin at a meeting held in Berlin (12 April 2019) between himself, Merkel, the French president and former president Petro Poroshenko.

" ... Putin: He, Putin, takes this letter, reads and says: no, it’s not at all what Lavrov wrote on the Steinmeier formula for me. 

Poroshenko: I say: sorry, but Lavrov will write nothing on it. Moreover, Steinmeier himself sits at this table and you can ask him, Mr. Putin. 

Putin: I won’t ask him, you re-advocated him, we will be based on our proposals - this is the style of Russia’s negotiation," Poroshenko told. (ibid 112 UA) 

Yet it is supposedly this "Steinmeier formula" that Zelensky is now demanding,

"The 'Steinmeier formula' should be incorporated in a new law on special status [the law on special provisions of local self-government in certain districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions], which is not ready yet," Zelensky said. (UNIAN : 1 October 2019) (my emphasis)

As former president Poroshenko recently stated,

"Petro Poroshenko, Ukraine's ex-president, MP from European Solidarity faction said that the Steinmeier formula did not exist. He stated this at the Rendez-vous show on Channel 5 on September 21.

"No Steinmeier agreement exists in nature. There is no Steinmeier agreement. There is no Steinmeier formula supposedly agreed with someone," Poroshenko said." (112 UA : 22 September 2019) (my emphasis)

Just as Trump is now reaping the whirlwind of that fateful call he had with Zelensky on the 25 July 2019, Zelensky is now reaping the whirlwind of his fateful decision to hold elections in the Donbas, occupied by Putin's forces and his proxies, in accordance with a "Steinmeier formula" that, according to Poroshenko, "does not exist in nature".

As reported by the BBC,

"Hundreds of Ukrainians have protested after President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had backed an agreement that would bring elections to territory controlled by Russian-backed separatists.
...
The proposed vote is part of a plan known as the "Steinmeier formula" to bring special status in the separatist-held east." (BBC : 2 October 2019) (my emphasis)

As Jonah Fisher (right) also reports,

"The most sensitive aspect of the Steinmeier formula is that it allows local elections to take place in the occupied parts of Ukraine before Russian-backed forces have withdrawn, and Kiev has control of the border." (ibid BBC) (my emphasis)

Critically, Fisher also informs us that,

"Most people with strongly pro-Ukrainian views have long ago left the occupied areas for their own safety. So it seems almost inevitable that the elections would consolidate the position of the Russia-aligned leaders who are currently in place, granting them the recognition Moscow has long craved."
...
It's not hard to see why President Zelensky's critics see this as a major concession, if not a capitulation. (my emphasis)

That 25th July call between Trump and Zelensky that has been revealed to the public is now ultimately leading to the impeachment of Trump.

But even more significant, especially in light of Zelensky suddenly agreeing to hold elections in the Donbas using a contested "Steinmeier formula", what did Putin and Zelensky agree to during their private telephone conversations?

(to be continued)

Is Zelensky trying to make headway for Putin in the Donbas?

In the US people are finally beginning to learn that what happened in Ukraine in 2014, and the fallout consequences thereof, has now become the very epicentre around which the impending impeachment of Trump revolves.

As described by Rachel Maddow,

"The other grounds on which Russia is being sanctioned by our government and others is their invasion of Ukraine and their ongoing war with Ukraine, and it would appear that the Trump administration has been trying to make headway on that front for Russia too." (MSNBC : 1 October 2019) (my emphasis)

Maddow Part 1

Maddow Part 2

We now also learn that Zelensky has,

" ... provisionally agreed to hold local elections in the occupied territories of its two easternmost regions once all armed formations leave the area and control is regained over about 400 kilometers of borderland with Russia.

At a briefing in Kyiv on October 1, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the agreement, brokered in Minsk with Russia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), paves the way for peace talks with Moscow to end the war in the Donbas that is in its sixth year.

“There cannot be and will not be elections held at gunpoint,” Zelenskiy said. "There will be no capitulation." (RFERL : 2 October 2019) (my emphasis)

What is also now emerging is that there is a so-called "Steinmeier Formula" around which these elections are going to be based.

But who is this "Steinmeier" (right)?

A member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Steinmeier became Germany's Foreign Secretary under the first Merkel coalition government in 2005, and then AGAIN in 2013 during Merkel's second coalition government. He remained as Germany's Foreign Secretary until 2019.

In other words, Steinmeier was the Foreign Secretary of Germany when Putin, in 2014, invaded and annexed Ukraine's Crimea, and started his war in the Donbas with Ukraine shortly thereafter.

More significantly, Steinmeier held the post of Chairman of the OSCE in 2016.

And now, suddenly,

"Members of the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine – Ukraine, Russia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe on Oct. 1 agreed to a peace process known as the “Steinmeier Formula,” green-lighting local elections in the Russian-controlled regions of Donbas." (Kyiv Post : 1 October 2019) (my emphasis)

Is it therefore at all surprising that,

"German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (left) said the approval of the Steinmeier formula opens the doors of the summit in the Normandy format, the press service of the Foreign Ministry of Germany reports.

"I am pleased that the constructive atmosphere during the Tripartite Contact Group in Minsk has led to such much-anticipated progress today. This opens the door to the Normandy summit and other stages of implementation of the Minsk agreements", - said Maas." (112 UA : 2 October 2019) (my emphasis) 

So what has now happened to the Minsk2 proposals, which ALSO sets out the pre-conditions for the holding of elections in the Donbas?

(9) Restore control of the state border to the Ukrainian government in the whole conflict zone, which has to start on the first day after the local election and end after the full political regulation (local elections in particular districts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts based on the law of Ukraine and Constitutional reform) by the end of 2015, on the condition of fulfillment of Point 11 – in consultations and in agreement with representatives of particular districts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts within the framework of the Trilateral Contact Group.
(10) Pullout of all foreign armed formations, military equipment, and also mercenaries from the territory of Ukraine under OSCE supervision. Disarmament of all illegal groups.
(11) Constitutional reform in Ukraine, with a new constitution to come into effect by the end of 2015, the key element of which is decentralisation (taking into account peculiarities of particular districts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, agreed with representatives of these districts), and also approval of permanent legislation on the special status of particular districts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts in accordance with the measures spelt out in the attached footnote,[note 1] by the end of 2015.
(12) Based on the Law of Ukraine "On temporary Order of Local Self-Governance in Particular Districts of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts", questions related to local elections will be discussed and agreed upon with representatives of particular districts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts in the framework of the Trilateral Contact Group. Elections will be held in accordance with relevant OSCE standards and monitored by OSCE/ODIHR.
(13) Intensify the work of the Trilateral Contact Group including through the establishment of working groups on the implementation of relevant aspects of the Minsk agreements. They will reflect the composition of the Trilateral Contact Group.

But where is this mystical "Steinmeier Formula" that has suddenly appeared out of nowhere?

According to Petro Poroshenko, former president of Ukraine,

"Petro Poroshenko, Ukraine's ex-president, MP from European Solidarity faction said that the Steinmeier formula did not exist. He stated this at the Rendez-vous show on Channel 5 on September 21.

"No Steinmeier agreement exists in nature. There is no Steinmeier agreement. There is no Steinmeier formula supposedly agreed with someone," Poroshenko said." (112 UA : 22 September 2019) (my emphasis)

 
[Poroshenko] I want to tell you, this is the first time I’m telling you about the last meeting in Berlin (12 April 2019) with Putin, Merkel, the French president and your humble servant. 

Putin: When Putin said: we had Steinmeier’s formula written by Lavrov.

Poroshenko:  I say: I'm sorry, there’s a letter from two ministers of Foreign Affairs of France and Germany, where they state that this is Steinmeier’s formula. Please take a look. 

Putin: He, Putin, takes this letter, reads and says: no, it’s not at all what Lavrov wrote on the Steinmeier formula for me. 

Poroshenko: I say: sorry, but Lavrov will write nothing on it. Moreover, Steinmeier himself sits at this table and you can ask him, Mr. Putin. 

Putin: I won’t ask him, you re-advocated him, we will be based on our proposals - this is the style of Russia’s negotiation," Poroshenko told. (ibid 112 UA)

Now it may be that, as a former member of the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine, Steinmeier would have participated in drawing up the above proposals (9) - (13)  as laid out in the Minsk2 protocols.

If so, we then have to ask ourselves,

• "Is the current president of Ukraine, Volodmyr Zelensky, fully conversant with the conditions laid out in the Minsk2 proposals regarding the holding of elections in the Donbas?

OR

• "Is president Zelensky accepting Lavrov's interpretation of those Minsk2 proposals, which Putin is now presenting to the world as the elusive "Steinmeier Formula" for elections in the Donbas?

What is rather chilling about these events is the fact that Steinmeier was present at that 12th April meeting when Putin categorically stated,

" I won’t ask him [Steinmeier], you re-advocated him, we will be based on our proposals - this is the style of Russia’s negotiation,"

and yet, we now have the current German Foreign minister, Heiko Maas, giving credence to the existence of the "Steinmeier Formula", as penned by Sergei Lavrov (left), that dyed-in-the-wool Soviet foreign minister of Putin.

And we now have Zelensky stating that,

"The 'Steinmeier formula' should be incorporated in a new law on special status [the law on special provisions of local self-government in certain districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions], which is not ready yet," Zelensky said. (UNIAN : 1 October 2019) (my emphasis)

Which brings us back to Rachel Maddow, who is now reporting that,

"The other grounds on which Russia is being sanctioned by our government and others is their invasion of Ukraine and their ongoing war with Ukraine, and it would appear that the Trump administration has been trying to make headway on that front for Russia too" (ibid Rachel Maddow)

Is Zelensky also trying to make headway for Putin in the Donbas?

(to be continued)

Zelensky is now caught between a rock and a hard place.

As the Trump presidency unravels at lightning speed, with Ukraine at the very epicentre of Trump's impending impeachment, the words of John Bolton but a few weeks ago should now be ringing out as a clarion call to President Zelensky.

As  RFERL reported,

"U.S. national-security adviser John Bolton (right) says there is no need for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to "rush" into any course of action regarding Russia’s involvement with separatist forces in eastern Ukraine.
...
"I don't suppose that the Europeans are going to have a solution that is readily apparent," he added in reference to the so-called Normandy format of negotiations aimed at ending the Ukraine conflict." (RFERL : 27 Aug 2019) (my emphasis)

The tidal wave of Trump's illegal political machinations, from the very first day he triumphantly strode into the White House, centred around the lifting of the millstone of sanctions around Putin's neck.

These sanctions were placed around Putin's neck by the EU and the US because of his illegal invasion and annexation of Crimea, and his ongoing war with Ukraine in the Donbas.                                 

                                                               MSNBC : 1 Oct. 2019

What is now been revealed, moment by moment, is just how many of Trump's senior advisors and appointees have become accomplices in his illegal actions.

We now learn that Kurt Volker, the 'special' US envoy to Ukraine dealing with Ukraine's war with Putin, has resigned from his post because it was he who paved the path for Rudy Giuliani to try and dig up dirt on Joe Biden, Trump's main democratic rival in the upcoming 2020 US presidential elections.

 

Then there is the US Attorney General, William Barr (left), and the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo (right), whom we now learn were central actors in the unfolding of Trump's attempt to 'shake down'  President Zelensky to dish dirt on Joe Biden in exchange for, amongst other things, Javelin missiles to protect Ukraine from Putin's tanks in the Donbas. 

And yet, as reported by the BBC, Ukraine itself had long ago dismissed the Trump and Giuliani conspiracy about Joe Biden's corruption as nothing more than a false conspiracy.

"Speaking to BBC Kiev correspondent Jonah Fisher, Mr Lutsenko - who succeeded Mr Shokin and stood down last month - said there was no plan to open the investigation into Burisma, and that any investigation into Hunter Biden would have to start in the US.

"It is the jurisdiction of the US," he said, adding that any "possible embezzlement" at Burisma "happened two or three years before Hunter Biden became a member of the board". (BBC : 29 Sept. 2019) (my emphasis)

Indeed, Zelensky should now ask himself whether Trump's telephone tête-à-tête's with Putin, PRIOR to his own call with Trump, were not instrumental in Trump trying to 'shake him down' by threatening the withholding of US military aid for Ukraine.

If so this should, for Zelensky, shed new light on what Putin may have promised him in those calls he had with Putin.

Is it therefore any wonder that Putin does not want the transcripts of the calls between himself and Trump to be released?

Zelensky is now caught between a rock and a hard place.

(to be continued)

Zelensky's "transparency" is being tested

As that fateful telephone conversation between Zelensky and Trump on the 25th July continues to reverberate around the world, let us pause for a moment and recognize the critical role that a free press has in holding politicians of all stripes accountable for their actions.

Without the freedom  of the press in the USA none of us would be any the wiser of just how Trump saw the struggles of the people of Ukraine as a bargaining chip in his political strategy in the upcoming US 2020 presidential elections.

The world already knows about Trump's disdain for a free press.

As Julia Arciga (left) reported,

"President Trump went after the media again in a Friday tweet, claiming the press—and not just the “fake news” media—is the “enemy of the people.” (The Daily Beast : 5 April 2019) (my emphasis)

Trump, however, is not alone in regarding the press as "the enemy of the people".

Ian Bateson (right) of The Atlantic recently wrote that,

"Zelensky and his team .... have openly said they do not need journalists in their efforts to communicate with the public, opting instead for social media and slickly produced “interviews” carried out in-house." (The Atlantic : 25 September 2019) (my emphasis)

Indeed,

"Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andriy Bohdan (left), argues that journalists—who he said are corrupt and need to “purify” themselves, in an interview with BBC News Ukrainian—are no longer necessary, and has said that a press conference with Zelensky will take place “when society demands such a press conference.” ...  His argument is essentially that journalists have no role in deciding what the people want, and provide only one microphone of many the government can choose from. (ibid Ian Bateson)

Let us recall that Andriy Bohdan,

"..... previously served as deputy minister of justice and deputy minister in charge of anti-corruption policy under Viktor Yanukovich before the former president fled to Moscow during the Maidan uprising in 2014." (DW (Deutsche Welle) : 21.05.2019) (my emphasis)

With this in mind, I shall merely now include snippets of how a free press in the US brought to light just how Trump used the suffering of the Ukrainian people as a bargaining chip against Zelensky and, more importantly, brought to light the myriad of actors that worked in cahoots with Trump to try to achieve his aim of besmirching one of his main opponents in the upcoming 2020 presidential elections in the US, Joe Biden.

MSNBC : 26 September 2019

MSNBC : 26 September 2019

MSNBC : 26 September 2019

MSNBC : 26 September 2019

 Listen to the FULL Whistleblower complaint!

In the words of Mark Twain,

It's no wonder that TRUTH is stranger than fiction. Fiction has to make sense. 

And let us remind ourselves of what Andriy Bohdan said, 

"Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andriy Bohdan, argues that journalists—who he said are corrupt and need to “purify” themselves, in an interview with BBC News Ukrainian—are no longer necessary

..." (ibid Ian Bateson)

(to be continued)

Trump's outburst should give Zelensky serious pause for concern

"The Ukrainian revolution of 2014 (also known as the Euromaidan Revolution or Revolution of Dignity; Ukrainian: Революція гідності, Revoliutsiia hidnosti) took place in Ukraine in February 2014, when a series of violent events involving protesters, riot police, and unknown shooters in the capital, Kiev, culminated in the ousting of the elected Ukrainian President, Viktor Yanukovych, and the overthrow of the Ukrainian Government" (Wikipedia)

This revolution in Ukraine led Putin to invade and annex Ukraine's Crimea, and to start a war with Ukraine in the Donbas, a war that has led to the loss of thousands of lives.

Zelensky gained the presidency of Ukraine but a few short months ago, and the major platform that led to his political success was his political promise to end the war with Putin and bring peace to the inhabitants of the Donbas .... peace to Ukraine.

Little did President Zelensky know that within 3 months of his election victory on 21 April, a fateful telephone conversation held on the 25 July between himself and President Trump would lead to the opening of a formal impeachment inquiry into Trump.

As reported by the BBC,

"Democrats will open a formal impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump over claims that he sought political help from Ukraine, US media reports say. 

...
Last week reports said US intelligence officials had complained to a government watchdog about Mr Trump's interactions with a foreign leader, who was later revealed to be the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky. " (BBC : 24 September, 2019) (my emphasis)

It has since transpired that Trump was using the releasing of US military aid for Ukraine as a quid pro quo to bribe Zelensky to trawl for 'political' dirt against Joe Biden, the current front runner of his democratic opponents in the 2020 US presidential elections.

 MSNBC : 25 September 2019

As early as August of this year,  Natasha Bertrand of Politico reported that,

"The Trump administration is slow-walking $250 million in military assistance to Ukraine, annoying lawmakers and advocates who argue the funding is critical to keeping Russia at bay.

But the delays come amid questions over Trump’s approach to Russia, after a weekend in which the president repeatedly seemed to downplay Moscow’s military intervention in Ukraine and pushed for Russia to be reinstated into the Group of Seven, an annual gathering of the world’s largest advanced economies. " (Politico : 29 August 2019) (my emphasis)

 MSNBC: 25 September 2019

And in light of his impending formal impeachment, Trump is now desperately trying to shift the blame for his slow-walking of $250 million in US military aid for Ukraine onto the EU.

 BBC : 24 Sept., 2019

This outburst of Trump should give Zelensky serious pause for concern about the impending Normandy Four meeting between himself, Putin, Merkel, and Macron.

Indeed, Zelensky should now ask himself whether Trump's telephone tête-à-tête's with Putin, PRIOR to his own call with Trump, were not instrumental in Trump's current outburst about withholding US military aid for Ukraine.

If so this should, for Zelensky, shed new light on what Putin may have promised him in those calls between himself and Putin.

It is not co-incidental that, as reported by Vladimir Soldatkin (right),

"Russia is ready to take part in a four-way summit in Paris [the Normandy Format: Putin, Merkel, Macron, Zelensky] to try to breathe life into the stalled Ukrainian peace process but has strict preconditions for such a meeting, a senior Kremlin aide said on Friday." (Reuters : 13 September 2019) (my emphasis)

The strict preconditions that Putin has set forth for this Normandy Format meeting are :-

• The rival armed forces in eastern Ukraine should be separated on either side of the line of contact
• The wording on a special status for the Donbass region should be agreed, and
• There must be a preliminary agreement on what the summit’s conclusions should be. (ibid Soldatkin) (my emphasis)

One may indeed ask whether these preconditions of Putin were part of the telephone conversation discussions held between himself and Zelensky.

Zelensky should also bear in mind the Merkel's and Macron's hidden agendas in having this Normandy Format meeting as soon as is possible. (cf.my Blog Entry 14/09/2019)

For Zelensky, political truth is turning out to be dangerously stranger than fiction.

MSNBC : 25 September 2019

(to be continued)

Will Zelensky do Trump's bidding and pursue 'false' investigations into Joe Biden?

On the 29 August, 2019,  Natasha Bertrand of Politico reported that,

"The Trump administration is slow-walking $250 million in military assistance to Ukraine, annoying lawmakers and advocates who argue the funding is critical to keeping Russia at bay.

But the delays come amid questions over Trump’s approach to Russia, after a weekend in which the president repeatedly seemed to downplay Moscow’s military intervention in Ukraine and pushed for Russia to be reinstated into the Group of Seven, an annual gathering of the world’s largest advanced economies. " (Politico : 29 August 2019) (my emphasis)

This was followed by  David Brennan (right), who reported on Putin's glee that Trump was withholding this critical military assistance to Ukraine.

"A senior Russian official has praised President Donald Trump's decision to delay $250 million in military funding to Ukraine, where government forces are battling a Russian-backed insurgency in the east of the country." (Newsweek : 30 August 2019) (my emphasis)

Then, on September 7th, 2019, Henry Foy, Roman Olearchyk and Michael Peel reported that,

"Russia and Ukraine exchanged 70 prisoners on Saturday after months of intense negotiations .." (Financial Times : September 7 2019) (my emphasis)

Events were now moving fast.

Vladimir Soldatkin (below) then informed us that,

"Russia is ready to take part in a four-way summit in Paris [the Normandy Format: Putin, Merkel, Macron, Zelensky] to try to breathe life into the stalled Ukrainian peace process but has strict preconditions for such a meeting, a senior Kremlin aide said on Friday." (Reuters : 13 September 2019) (my emphasis)

Meanwhile, Merkel and Macron were  wasting no timein pushing hard for this Normandy Format meeting to take place as soon as possible.

And why?

"French President Emmanuel Macron has in recent weeks pushed for a review of ties with Russia, indicating that more sanctions against Moscow were not in France's interests. (CNA : 13 September 2019) (my emphasis)

And let us not forget Merkel and her Nord Stream2 project.

As reported by Brian Parkin and Vanessa Dezem, 

"Germany is confident that hitches threatening the Russian-led Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline will be resolved to allow completion of the project on time this year.

...

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government is becoming more vocal in its support for the project after years of parrying queries over its stance toward importing more Russian gas." (Bloomberg : 12 September 2019) (my emphasis)

We now learn that,

"The [US] Vice President spoke by phone today [September 18] with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to follow up on their productive September 1 meeting in Warsaw and discussed President Trump's upcoming meeting with President Zelensky next week at the UN General Assembly in New York," according to the readout of U.S. Vice President Mike Pence's phone call with Zelensky, which was posted on the White House's website on September 18." (UNIAN : 19 September, 2019) (my emphasis)

The speed with which all these events have occurred, it now transpires, may have had a catalytic effect as early as July 2019 that is now blowing up in Zelensky's face.

It has now come to light that a whistleblower working at the White House has revealed, (ON 12 AUGUST 2019)  that Trump had a call with Zelensky (ON 25 JULY 2019) in which Trump may have asked Zelensky to "gather dirt" on Joe Biden, his prime presidential opponent in the upcoming US Presidential elections in 2020, as a quid pro quo for him releasing US military aid to Ukraine.

 MSNBC : (20 September 2019)

 

As reported by Rachel Maddow (MSNBC: 19 September 2019)

 

As also reported by Stephen Collinson (left),

"The details of the controversy unleashed when a whistleblower sounded the alarm about the President are complex, disputed according to political allegiance and largely not public.

The Washington Post and The New York Times reported Thursday that the contacts at issue between Trump and the foreign leader involve Ukraine. 

In the past, some of Trump's supporters, including his lawyer Rudy Giuliani, have urged the Kiev government to open investigations that the President could use to raise suspicions about his political rivals, including Joe Biden. 

In a heated exchange with CNN's Chris Cuomo on Thursday night, Giuliani denied asking Ukraine to investigate the former vice president, before admitting he had done just that. 

 Trump spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on July 25. There is so far no public evidence that the whistleblower's complaint pertains to this conversation.(CNN : September 20, 2019) (my emphasis)

 MSNBC (20 September 2019)

 

The critical question that we now have to ask ourselves is :-

"Was that telephone tête-à-tête between Trump and Zelensky (25th July 2019) the catalyst that precipitated :-

• the prisoner exchange between Putin and Ukraine on the 7 September, 
• the reinstatement of military aid to Ukraine, (as reported by VOA on 12 September, 2019) "President Donald Trump's administration has released $250 million in military aid for Ukraine, U.S. senators said on Thursday, after lawmakers from both parties expressed anger that the White House had held up money approved by Congress.", and
•  the sudden rush by Zelensky and Putin (cf: Vladimir Soldatkin (Reuters : 13 September 2019)) to have a Normandy Format meeting?

Is it also merely co-incidental that, as reported by Kenneth P. Vogel and Andrew E. Kramer,

"Months after backing out of a trip to Ukraine amid criticism that he was mixing partisan politics with foreign policy, Rudolph W. Giuliani (left), President Trump’s personal lawyer, has renewed his push for the Ukrainian government to pursue investigations into political opponents of Mr. Trump." (New York Times : 21 August, 2019) (my emphasis)

It is also significant that, as reported by UNIAN,

"President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump on September 25 in New York on the sidelines of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
...
It is also expected that Trump during the conversation will touch on the topic of conducting an investigation against Burisma (whose board member was Hunter Biden, the son of former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden)." (UNIAN : 19 September 2019) (my emphasis)

Now that the details of that telephone tête-à-tête between Trump and Zelensky (25th July 2019) are slowly coming to light, and Trump is openly displaying his panic regarding his chances of being re-elected into the White House in 2020, how will Zelensky handle Trump's request to " pursue investigations into his political opponent, Joe Biden"? 

Zelensky cannot dodge this political bullet.

The eyes of the world are now upon him.

Will Zelensky do Trump's bidding and pursue 'false' investigations into Joe Biden? 

  

STOP PRESS! URGENT! PLEASE WATCH 

MSNBC : 21 September 2019 : Trump Cornered

 (to be continued)