US officials insisted on Sunday that Ukraine should remain unified and cautioned that any military intervention by Russia would be a mistake after bloody street protests ousted the pro-Moscow president.
In an appearance on the NBC TV program “Meet the Press,” National Security Adviser Susan Rice was asked about a scenario in which Russia would send troops to restore a government more friendly to Moscow, or for the country to be carved up.
“That would be a grave mistake. It is not in the interests of Ukraine or of Russia or of Europe or the United States to see the country split. It’s in nobody’s interest to see violence return and the situation escalate,” Rice said.
Rice’s appearance provided the most extensive White House comments yet on days of drama in Ukraine in which opposition groups with leanings toward Western Europe took control and Russian-backed President Viktor Yanukovich left the capital, Kiev.
Many in Washington regard the next few days as crucial to the fast-unfolding crisis. With the Winter Olympic Games ending in Sochi, Russia, President Vladimir Putin could focus more closely on the Ukrainian situation.
US Secretary of State John Kerry spoke by telephone on Sunday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, expressing support for the Ukrainian parliament's latest moves. Kerry has also been in touch with some of Ukraine’s opposition leaders.
The State Department said on Saturday it would send its No. 2 official, Bill Burns, to Kiev this week.
Rice said the United States wants a reduction of the violence in Ukraine, constitutional changes, democratic elections “in
very short order,” and the opportunity for Ukrainians to come together in a coalition government.
The fluidity of Ukraine’s situation is such that US authorities are not sure where Yanukovich is. There had been reports he has retreated to the pro-Russian eastern part of Ukraine.
“He is in a place where it will reveal itself. Yesterday we knew where he was. Today we’re not so sure,” Rice said.
The crisis in Ukraine reflects the conflict between those who want the country to remain aligned with Russia and those who want closer integration with Western Europe.
But Rice said those goals were not “mutually exclusive”.
“There is not an inherent contradiction ... between a Ukraine that has longstanding historic and cultural ties to Russia and a modern Ukraine that wants to integrate more closely with Europe,” Rice said.
Ukraine’s messy drive toward democracy, during which dozens have been killed, was ultimately positive, Rice said: “Over time, this trajectory is a good one.”
Her comments were echoed by Geoffrey Pyatt, the US ambassador to Ukraine, in an interview on Sunday with National Public Radio.
“It’s been thrilling, exhausting, but also inspiring,” Pyatt said. “What comes in the weeks ahead is a second chance for Ukrainian democracy, a chance to make the institutions work.”
