Will the U.S. Arms Resolve the Ukrainian Crisis?

• 07.27.2017, 12:21
•  Europe,  America,  World

themoscowtimes.com

The new US special representative for Ukraine says Washington is actively reviewing whether to send weapons to help those fighting against Russian-backed rebels. "Defensive weapons, ones that would allow Ukraine to defend itself, and to take out tanks for example, would actually help" stop Russia threatening Ukraine, he said in an interview to BBC.

The Kremlin has already responded to this statement by warning that it will lead to a new escalation. "We have said more than once that any actions that provoke tension on the line of separation, that provoke a situation which is already complex, will only take us further away from the moment when this internal Ukrainian issue is resolved," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the BBC.

US experts also warn of the danger of such a move by expressing concern that the weapons can be used for offensive purposes. The US government has taken so long to review the arms sale to Ukraine because there is some, though admittedly not much, opposition to it at the State Department and elsewhere due to concerns that it will cause the existing crisis to escalate," said Philip Giraldi, executive director of the Council for the National Interest, Sputnik reports.

It should be noted that earlier Obama’s administration blocked the bill adopted by the Congress on supplying weapons to Ukraine: in the past, the United States has provided Ukraine with only non-lethal weapons and military equipment, including Humvee vehicles, Raven unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as various equipment – such as radio stations, night vision devices and radars.

Generally, Kiev's ally western countries, despite providing some material support, have always abstained from providing military assistance, insisting that the conflict should be settled exclusively on the basis of political dialogue and the Minsk agreements. They have reaffirmed this position during a telephone conversation with the leaders of the "Normandy Quartet" this week.

In fact, in the case of the Ukrainian crisis as well the US President Donald Trump's administration may ignore the position and interests of the European partners, which is happening in case of the US new anti-Russian sanctions. As a result, the US supply of weapons to Ukraine could be a blow not to the Donbass separatists, but to the US-Europe relations that have suffered since the presidency of Trump.