U.S. considering new forms of support to Ukraine, McMaster says

The U.S. is considering new forms of support to
Ukraine to counteract Russian aggression, U.S. National Security Advisor
Herbert McMaster said in an Aug. 5 television interview, when asked about the
possibility of Ukraine gaining armaments from the U.S. “That’s one the things
we’re looking at, is what form of support Ukraine needs that’s consistent with
our interests and everyone’s desire to ensure that Russia doesn’t take
offensive action that could lead to a much broader conflict,” he said. “I have
to recognize this is a dangerous situation of Russia’s creation. What we’re
endeavoring to do with our allies is to prevent that conflict from growing.”

Kurt Volker, the U.S. special representative to
Ukraine, will meet this week with Vladislav Surkov, an advisor to Russian
President Putin on the war in Donbas, said on Aug. 6 Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov, as reported by the TASS news agency. The meeting comes after
Volker met with officials in Paris, Berlin and London to discuss the conflict,
said Lavrov, who made his announcement after meeting with U.S. Secretary of
State Rex Tillerson in Manila. In his turn, Tillerson said Russia is showing
“some willingness” to start talking about a resolution to the crisis in
Ukraine.

Zenon Zawada: Trump’s foreign policy team has a solid grip on what’s happening in
Donbas and what the risks would be in introducing U.S. weapons. Therefore, we
don’t expect the U.S. will decide to give lethal, defensive weapons to Ukraine,
which will only exacerbate the warfare. Instead, the talks about U.S. weapons
seem to be an attempt to force Russia to the negotiating table, which we don’t
think will be very successful. We don’t expect any breakthroughs in the
conflict, which will become centered around the presidential and parliamentary
elections as 2019 draws closer.