WASHINGTON, October 7 (RIA Novosti) - US Assistant Secretary of State's visit to the Ukrainian capital might bring the money for covert military assistance and propaganda efforts in the conflict-torn country, Andrew Kreig, Washington based author and analyst, told RIA Novosti.
"Ambassador Nuland and her contacts in the intelligence agencies and so-called "non-government" and "democracy-building" organizations can provide substantial, hard-to-trace support far beyond the $50 million that the White House announced," Kreig told RIA Novosti on Monday. "Much of this money would likely be covert military assistance and propaganda efforts."
The analyst underlined that such covert patterns have been used for years all over the world.
"So, it is highly likely that their use would continue," he said. "The difficulty now, however, is that the amounts needed are so vast and the exposure risks would be grave because of public denials that such secret help has been occurring."
Kreig added that the meeting's participants provided optimistic public comments despite the difficult financial circumstances Kiev is facing.
"Behind the scenes, participants are doubtless strategizing how to obtain more money for Kiev and public relations strategies," he said.
"The situation for the public and ultimately the leaders is especially difficult because Poroshenko's high-profile visit to the United States [on September 18] resulted merely in a White House promise of $50 million in aid through 2015. The International Monetary Fund predicted that Ukraine will need $19 billion then," he explained.
Commenting on the importance of the meeting between Poroshenko and Nuland on Monday, Kreig said one needs to look beyond the formal titles of the individuals to assess their real-world strength.
"Nuland is stronger in Washington than her title indicates. She, her husband and their other family members are favorite instruments of the bipartisan, pro-war military and Wall Street factions that helped orchestrate the Ukrainian government's overthrow," he explained.
The expert noted that Nuland's rhetoric contrasts with the abject apology to Turkey that Vice President Joseph Biden immediately provided on October 4 when Turkey protested Biden's embarrassing comment about Turkey's help for Islamist fighters in Syria.
"Thus Nuland, an unelected official held over from the Bush administration, suffered less public reprisal than the United States elected vice president," he said. "As for President Poroshenko, his status as a leader may be only a temporary because of the dire economic, battlefield and other strategic circumstances where he has led his followers."
Poroshenko and Nuland discussed the implementation of the Minsk agreement aimed at resolving the situation in the southeastern Ukraine on Monday. According to the statement on Ukraine's president's official website, the parties have reviewed such issues as the necessity of establishing full control over the Ukrainian-Russian border, the necessity of taking urgent measures to avoid a humanitarian disaster, and the importance of restoring the broadcast of Ukrainian TV channels in Donetsk and Luhansk.
