Ray Furlong
Ukraine is a recalcitrant mule that’s been smashed on the nose with a plank of wood.
This colorful image is a paraphrase of a telling remark this week by US special envoy Keith Kellogg that sums up Washington’s view of Ukraine’s rocky road from the bust-up in the White House to new talks with US negotiators in Saudi Arabia.
Kellogg was discussing the US decision to pause military supplies to Ukraine and suspend intelligence cooperation. The aim, he said, was to compel Ukraine to join talks.
“The best way I can describe it is sort of like hitting a mule with a two by four across the nose,” Kellogg said. “You got their attention.”
In other words, Ukraine’s biggest military backer has wielded a big stick to get its way, and it seems to have worked.
“The push is to get them to engage in diplomatic activities…. The bottom line is that it’s a forcing function to get them to the table,” Kellogg said at an event in Washington on March 6.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy heads to Riyadh on March 10 to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, followed by talks between Ukrainian and US delegations in Jeddah later in the week.
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