Tyler Durden:
A leaked recording of a telephone conversation allegedly between US assistant secretary of state Victoria Nuland and the US envoy to the Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt discussing who should be in Ukraine’s next government has, according to The FT,threatened to fuel east-west tensions over the troubled nation’s future. In apparent frustration with the EU – which has failed to join the US in threatening sanctions against Ukraine’s leaders if they violently crush the protests – the voice resembling Ms Nuland at one point exclaims “Fuck the EU”. As the two US diplomats decide whether “Klitsch” or “Yats” should be ‘in’ or ‘out’, listeners will be reminded (uncomfortably) that thegovernments of Ukraine and Russia previously alleged that the protests are being funded and orchestrated by the US.
The authenticity of the recording has not been confirmed (though comparisons to Nuland’s recent media appearances provide some confidence) – the FT reported that the US embassy in Kiev declined to comment, which is a tacit admission: if the clip was a fake, the US would immediately make it clear.Â
Needless to say, as the FT adds, “[this clip] could also bolster a propaganda campaign by the governments of Ukraine and Russia alleging that the protests that erupted against Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovich last November are being funded and orchestrated by the US.” Its release on the day the Sochi Olympics start is also somewhat disturbing.
