White House press secretary Jen Psaki was compelled recently to issue a statement on Ukraine Security Assistance, ostensibly refuting allegations or rumors that Ukraine’s security assistance had been held back. Plain and simple she called it nonsense. In fact she stressed that in the run up to the US-Russia Summit $150 million including lethal assistance had been extended and that now (June 18, 2021) the entire amount appropriated by Congress had been provided. She then went on to quote President Biden at the NATO Summit, that we would keep putting Ukraine “in the position to be able to continue to resist Russian physical aggression.” Finally she asserted that contingency funds have been prepared should there be further Russian incursion into Ukraine because President Biden told President Putin directly that we will stand unwavering in support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. In politics and in particular political international relations spin is important than reality. Even more so when one country is in a far superior position and the recipient of benefits is dependent on the benefactor’s generosity and even more importantly good faith. In politics good faith or total honesty is a missing component often.
Two takeaways from the Biden-Putin Summit were that Putin with his customary cunning and long term experience saw Biden as a good man, which for Putin meant, one who can be tricked and compelled to cower. Biden presented a list of red lines and Putin presented his own. Not surprisingly, one of those was Ukraine’s NATO membership. These political permutations are reminiscent of US Cold War behavior regarding Ukraine’s aspirations for independence and US State department and intelligence preoccupation with the position of the “Great Russians”. Frankly this behavior was unprincipled and shameful. US intelligence even attempted and did in part infiltrate the Ukrainian American community to spin this nonsense.
True President Biden is an honorable man, but not one who will venture courageously intent on principles. If these were not his character traits earlier in his career that certainly was forged by the Obama experience. President Obama had red lines but did not necessarily follow through. Given these basic observations what does the future hold?
In early June, just before the NATO and Putin summits, President Biden invited Ukraine’s President Zelensky to the White House during the Summer. I suspect that at this Summit, President Biden will present President Zelensky with an alternative. This is an educated guess on my part formed by more and less sublime messages being thrown out there by US intelligence surrogates including Ukrainian American.
I also believe that President Zelensky will be somewhat awestruck when he visits the White House. He recognizes that he has to appear gratified for the visit alone. Frankly for one with no political experience while appearing internationally President Zelensky has behaved appropriately with the exception of his meeting with US Secretary Blinken. Zelensky was much too appreciative of the meeting itself even though the US Secretary gave away nothing. One can conclude that the Blinken meeting was a prelude to the White House meeting. At the end of the day at his meeting with President Biden when President Biden says that he is prepared to designate Ukraine as a US Major Non NATO Ally, President Zelensky must retain both the composure and intelligence to express his gratitude but decline the designation in favor of NATO membership. There is much pressure now and will be more at the meeting. US intelligence is working the Zelensky people and the Ukrainian American community with its infiltrators.
MNNA is shutting the door on Ukraine’s NATO aspirations and affords UKRAINE no security or any other defense including lethal assistance than has not or cannot be appropriated through Congress. Support for Ukraine’s defense in Congress is bipartisan.
MNNA is not an interim status as no NATO member has been a MNNA. I believe that President Biden is offering MNNA in good faith fearing crossing Putin’s red line. However, President Zelensky must be mindful of the fact that encouragement from others in this ruse is not in good faith but a bureaucratic Trojan horse.
In similar good faith President Zelensky should decline MNNA politely and stress Ukraine’s commitment to NATO. Similarly to Ukraine’s independence during the Cold War, its NATO membership will take place with US assistance and despite US reluctance, mainly through the perseverance of intelligent and indomitable Ukrainians, obsessed with the interests of Ukraine first and refusing to sell out those interests for the sake of some shortsighted political expediency. June 22, 2021 Askold S. Lozynskyj