Against the backdrop of recent turbulent international events in various parts of the world, it is not only them that have attracted increased international and media attention, but also the various “stunts” pulled by a number of ambassadors in their political dances on the diplomatic podium. Above all, they are already known for their contemptuous and unjustifiably arrogant attitude in the diplomatic community and for blatantly exceeding international norms of diplomatic behavior and principles of non-interference in the affairs of other sovereign states.

BY Vladimir Platov

Here it is also worth recalling the much-maligned behavior of the former Ukrainian ambassador to Berlin, Andriy Melnyk, who infuriated everyone with his eulogy of a Third Reich collaborator Stepan Bandera, as reported in July by the New York Times. The man, who publicly insulted both the German Chancellor and the host country, was more like an odious blogger than a diplomat, with constant criticism from various members of the German political establishment.

However, the new Ukrainian ambassador who has arrived to replace him, Oleksiy Makeyev, is not much different from his predecessor, who in an interview with the Bild am Sonntag newspaper on October 30 harshly criticized German policy and assistance to Ukraine. And then he made public racist appeals to the FRG authorities to ban all Russian citizens from entering that country. It is therefore not surprising that readers of the German newspaper Welt, who have recently been sharply critical of such undiplomatic behavior on the part of O. Makeyev and his predecessor, A. Melnyk, have also voiced their possible demands. In particular, “to ban the entry of Ukrainians”, “of Ukrainian ambassadors entering Berlin”, and some even called for “expelling this insolent ‘diplomat’ from the country”.

And Germany is not the only country whose population does not intend to tolerate such indecent behavior on the part of the head of the Ukrainian diplomatic mission. On October 25, readers of the Irish publication TheJournal reacted sharply to criticism by Ukraine’s ambassador to the country, Larysa Gerasko, of the Irish authorities over problems with the accommodation of Ukrainian refugees. One reader, AnDrew Barela, explicitly pointed out that “the Ukrainian ambassador should be more worried about men of fighting age seeking refuge in Ireland as opposed to refugee accommodation availability.”

 On August 21, Ukraine’s ambassador to Kazakhstan, Petro Vrublevsky, made public neo-fascist calls to kill as many Russians as possible, which also reflects Ukraine’s general lack of diplomatic training of its high-ranking official foreign representatives.

Blatantly unbecoming of a high-ranking diplomat is also the fundraising announced by the Ukrainian ambassador to Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, via social media to raise money for his daughter Yaroslava to study in London.

The above examples of blatantly inadequate behavior by Ukraine’s ambassadors are not surprising when one looks at the recent behavior of the current Kiev regime’s sponsors themselves, including senior representatives of Western embassies in various countries.

For example, 53 members of the Libyan House of Representatives on August 14 expressed their rejection of the show of disrespect for Libyan sovereignty by British Ambassador to Tripoli Caroline Hurndall, indicating that this could lead local authorities to declare her persona non grata. The MPs stressed that C. Hurndall’s behavior exceeded the limits of her diplomatic mission and constituted blatant interference in internal affairs. In particular, Hurndall’s close relationship with the losing legitimacy of the Government of National Unity, bypassing the House of Representatives decision to strip the GNU of its credibility and form another cabinet. Libyan MPs also stressed that Hurndall was trying to interfere with national security issues, disrupting the 5+5 Joint Military Commission (JMC) and efforts to unify army institutions.

The US ambassador to Moldova, Kent D. Logsdon, is constantly making overt attempts to show Moldova “who is the boss”. For example, during a recent appearance on ProTV Chişinău, Logsdon instructed Moldovan justice to prosecute those under US sanctions who pose a threat to the Sandu regime. According to the US Ambassador, this is Washington’s way of “helping Moldova reform its justice system”.

Against this very sad backdrop, the unquestionable “palm branch” in abuse of power continues to be held by US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan, the resentment against her in that country is becoming more and more critical.

Another surge in meddling in Georgia’s internal affairs by Ambassador Degnan came after 5 MPs from the ruling Georgian Dream left in early October. As a result, the four MPs who had previously left the ruling team and founded the People’s Power movement were joined by five others. In response, Ambassador Kelly Degnan called the outgoing Dream MPs “undermining the foundations of the Georgian-American partnership.” As for the Georgian opposition itself, it considers this fact as evidence of a change in the foreign policy course of the ruling team from “pro-Western” to “pro-Russian”. Georgian experts themselves are of the opinion that this event was an evidence of Dream’s preparation for the elections of 2024 and an attempt to keep an offended electorate in its orbit.

The 9 deputies who left the Dream believe that the US Embassy, the “radical” opposition and some NGOs are acting in a coordinated manner against the Georgian government. And the release from prison of former high-ranking officials of former President Saakashvili’s government is evidence of this. Furthermore, they claim that the US Embassy is not moving away from the rhetoric being vigorously ranted by the radical opposition and the Ukrainian government of late. As one of the leaders of the People’s Power movement, Sozar Subari, noted, Georgia’s aspiration for European values and Euro-Atlantic structures is enshrined in the Constitution. But this does not mean that Georgia should absolutely give up making its own decisions, that foreign ambassadors should dictate to the government what kind of law it should or should not pass, how much of an electoral threshold it should have, when to go to war and so on.  At the same time the representatives of the People’s Power remind that the population of Georgia already has considerable experience of how the “Rose Revolution” of 2003 was carried out “with the support of the US Embassy”, and the possibility of change of power in Georgia with the participation of the US continues to exist even today.

According to political scientist and psychologist Ramaz Sakvarelidze, as well as many members of the Georgian public, the US Ambassador has no right to demand from the ruling team to disassociate from any political force or create an alliance with any force.

This unceremonious interference of the US Embassy in Georgia’s internal affairs continued in November, when K. Degnan publicly supported Nikoloz Gvaramia, the former head of the opposition TV company Rustavi 2, who was sentenced to three and a half years in prison. Commenting on the US Embassy’s behavior, Kakha Kakhishvili, an MP from the country’s ruling Georgian Dream, strongly criticized Ambassador K. Degnan. In particular, he pointed out that the US Ambassador in Tbilisi should not exceed his authority by publicly speaking in support of arrested opposition figures. At the same time, he recalled that after the change of power in Georgia in 2012, it was the US Embassy that demanded that judges who had previously worked in the system, which had been much criticized, not be dismissed. According to Kakha Kakhishvili, it is not for the US Ambassador or any other country, but for the Georgian people to decide Tbilisi’s policies and in particular which of Georgia’s judges is good and which is not.

Vladimir Platov, expert on the Middle East, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook.”

READ MORE:

https://journal-neo.org/2022/11/09/us-ambassadors-lead-in-abuse-of-power/

FREE JULIAN ASSANGE NOW...................