16 June 2014
During the June 14 riot at the Russian Embassy in Kyiv, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Deshchytsia arrived in the evening and pleaded with those gathered to keep the protests peaceful, without resorting to violence. When offering examples of what chants to shout, Deshchytsia suggested, “Russia, Get out of Ukraine!” But he also suggested a popular chant that refers to Russian President Vladimir Putin in an obscene manner. Afterwards, he explained his offensive chant as “an extreme situation.” He told the Ekho Mosvky radio station, “The main thing was to restrain the people at that moment.”
In response, Russian MP Aleksei Pushkov, the head of the Duma’s foreign policy committee, called for Deshchytsia’s resignation in a June 15 tweet. In his tweet, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt said Deshchytsia’s words were “undiplomatic,” but otherwise commended his efforts to calm the rioters. “Great credit to Deshchytsia for seeking to defuse a dangerous situation,” he wrote. “A skilled diplomatic and credit to Ukraine.”
Zenon Zawada: Deshchytsia won’t remain foreign minister for long, but that has nothing to do with the June 14 incident. It was reported last week that Poroshenko will select as his foreign minister Pavlo Klimkin, the current ambassador to Germany. He’s distinguished by his flexible position towards Moscow, even advocating during the Yanukovych administration a multi-vectored Ukrainian foreign policy instead of being concentrated on Europe. We are confident Deshchytsia will be designated an ambassador to an influential Western nation.
In his appointments, Poroshenko is selecting officials who have decent relations with Russians, as well as Ukraine’s Russian-oriented oligarchs. The president wants to keep the lines of communications open with these people, rather than isolating himself among a team of staunch pro-Western advocates (such as Deshchytsia) who are unacceptable to the Russian crowd. Yet what remains to be seen is whether these appointments don’t bend too far in accommodating Russian demands, which could backfire disastrously, particularly on the president’s poll ratings.