On
Ukraine, EU's
Ashton Tells
ICP Nuland Is
Her Friend,
Denies Sphere
of Influence
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
February 14 --
When the
European
Union's
Catherine
Ashton
came to the UN
Security
Council
stakeout along
with
Lithuanian
foreign
minister Linas
Linkevieius,
Inner City
Press asked
her about
Ukraine.
Earlier in the
day Russian
foreign
minister
Sergey Lavrov
accused the EU
of trying to
exert a
"sphere of
influence"
over Ukraine.
Last
week, as Inner
City Press has
pursued at the
UN, leaked
audio had US
official
Victoria
Nuland saying
Jeffrey
Feltman, formerly
a US
official and
now with the
UN, had gotten
Ban Ki-moon to
send Robert
Serry to
Ukraine, which
Nuland said
could help
"f*ck the EU."
After
two questions
about Central
African
Republic,
Inner City
Press asked
Ashton, you
know what
Victoria
Nuland said,
and now
Lavrov's
spoken
of the EU
trying a
sphere of
influence in
Ukraine, what
IS the EU's
approach
there?
Ashton
replied, "I
say hello to
my friend
Victoria
Nuland, and
she is
my friend. And
I say hello to
my friend
Sergey Lavrov.
It's very
simple, the EU
is actively
engaged. there
are four areas
of work. The
first is to
deal with use
of violence,
brought to
justice in
transparent
and open way.
Secondly, the
2004
constitution,
updating.
Free and fair
election. And
then the
economic
challenges. In
my
meetings, we
hope to help
on all of
those areas."
By
then Russian
Ambassador
Vitaly Churkin
had left the
Security
Council's
session on EU
cooperation,
as had the US'
Samantha
Power.
But the
question of
roles on the
Ukraine
remains
unresolved and
unanswered,
particularly
at the UN.
This
week Ban
Ki-moon held a
question and
answer session
with 15
correspondents,
of which a
transcript of
the Q&A
was never
released
despite
requests by
the Free
UN Coalition
for Access.
Ban's
spokesperson,
however,
responded that
in the session
with the 15
correspondents,
the issue of
Ukraine and
Feltman had
not come up.
Video via
here.
At
Ashton's
stakeout on
February 14,
several
correspondents
who had been
at the
"secret" and
Ukraine-less
Ban session
lobbied to be
handed
questions, of
the boom mic
operator and
then of the
Lithuanian
mission
spokesperson.
This, the Free UN Coalition for Access
respectfully
opposes, given
for example
that Lithuania
should not be
choosing the
questions for
the EU's
Ashton. We'll
have more on
this.
, 
