Victoria Nuland, the assistant secretary of state for European affairs, used the undiplomatic language in a phone conversation with Geoffrey Pyatt, the US ambassador to Ukraine, which was posted online by an unknown source on Thursday.
The pair are overheard discussing a possible deal between President Viktor Yanukovych and three opposition leaders to end the occupation of central Kiev by tens of thousands of protesters.
Nuland relays the news that the United Nations has agreed to send an envoy to mediate between the rivals, a decision that she welcomes as necessary to “help glue this thing”.
“And you know,” adds Nuland, “f--- the EU.”
”Exactly,” agrees the ambassador, Pyatt. “And I think we got to do something to make it stick together, because you can be sure that if it does start to gain altitude the Russians will be working behind the scenes to torpedo it.”
The conversation ends with Nuland saying that Joe Biden, the US vice president, would be ready to step in when required to “get the deeds to stick”.
The conversation appears to have taken place shortly after Yanukovych met his opponents on Jan. 25 and offered the prime ministership to Arseniy Yatseniuk, the leader of the biggest opposition party in parliament. Vitali Klitschko, the leader of the second biggest opposition bloc, was offered the post of deputy prime minister.
In the event, both men declined to join the government. Nuland and the US ambassador agreed this would be the wisest course. “I don’t think Klitschko should go into the government. I don’t think it’s necessary. I don’t think it’s a good idea,” says Nuland.
How the conversation found its way onto Youtube is unclear. Jay Carney, the White House spokesman, hinted that Russia might have been responsible. “The [Youtube] video was first noted and tweeted out by the Russian government, I think it says something about Russia’s role,” he said.
“We think this is a new low in Russian trade craft,” said Jen Psaki, a state department spokesman. “This is something they have been actively promoting, posting on and tweeting about and certainly we feel that is a new low.” She stopped short of directly accusing Russia of bugging the telephone call.
Nuland had apologised to her EU counterparts for the language in the recording , Psaki added.
Ukraine’s crisis escalated last month when security forces killed at least two demonstrators and parliament passed draconian laws banning most forms of public protest. Tens of thousands of people joined protests in Kiev and demanded Yanukovych’s resignation. The US was deeply frustrated with what it saw as the EU’s slow response.
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