Ambassador Volker meets the Grey Cardinal

The US recently appointed a new Special Envoy to Ukraine – his job is to help push for an end to the conflict in Ukraine’s east, and as such of course he has to meet with the Kremlin point man for Ukraine, Vladislav Surkov. Because, well, the Kremlin’s denials of involvement in the conflict are absurd.

Ambassador Kurt Volker met with Surkov recently in Belgrade. It was their second meeting, and though no details of their discussions were released, if the envoy’s Twitter feed is anything to go by, he’s a very good pick for a tough job. His recent 140-character output includes, “We don’t want to replace Minsk/Normandy process, we want to change Russia’s calculus so it supports full implementation of Minsk Agreements”, followed up with, “The conflict in eastern Ukraine is not an indigenous uprising; it’s an externally driven conflict and Russia is responsible”.

Thanks you, Ambassador, for your candour and directness. This has been much needed. We would have LOVED to have been a fly on the wall at the latest Surkov meeting!