Pompeo to visit Ukraine amid furor
Secretary of State to meet with Zelensky
WASHINGTON – Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will travel to Ukraine this week amid questions about his role in the Trump administration’s efforts to pressure Kiev for political favors – and while the Trump administration’s Ukraine policy is in disarray.
Pompeo will land in Kiev on Friday, and he plans to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has been thrust into the eye of an American political storm.
Pompeo’s visit comes at a politically awkward time. On Dec. 18, the House voted to impeach Trump, based on allegations that he solicited Ukraine’s interference in the 2020 election and obstructed Congress’ investigation into
the matter. It’s not clear when the Senate will hold a trial, but impeachment will be at the top of lawmakers’ agenda when they reconvene next week.
State Department emails and testimony from the House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry suggest that Pompeo knew about – and approved of
– the president’s push to get Zelensky to open two investigations that could benefit Trump in his 2020 reelection campaign.
Pompeo has refused to say how much he knew about the Ukraine pressure campaign, and he has dismissed the impeachment proceedings as “noise” and “silliness.”
Katharine Quinn-Judge, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group, an independent organization devoted to conflict prevention, said that for many Ukrainians, the scandal is not all that shocking.
“Ukrainians expect politicians to be corrupt and self-interested and aren’t particularly shocked by the idea of a president soliciting dirt on a political opponent in return for aid,” QuinnJudge said. “For some people, the scandal would seem to confirm what they have long suspected – that the U.S. government is just as corrupt and cynical as their own but is just much better at hiding it.”
The Ukraine scandal created upheaval inside the State Department and the National Security Council and led to the departure of a half-dozen seasoned foreign policy officials with Ukraine expertise. Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, Kurt Volker, resigned in September.
Pompeo will land in Kiev hours after William Taylor, the top American diplomat in Ukraine, leaves his post.
Taylor replaced Marie Yovanovitch, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. Pompeo cut short her tenure amid a campaign for her ouster by Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer.
All those diplomats testified before the House impeachment inquiry.
Pompeo’s visit comes at a delicate time for Zelensky. This month, the Ukrainian leader met with Russian President Vladimir Putin to revive a 2015 peace deal. The two men failed to reach a breakthrough but agreed to keep talking.