Trump comments send wrong message to world - Ukraine's ambassador to U.S.
The comments of the U.S. presidential candidate of the Republican Party Donald Trump on the Russian-occupied Crimea send the wrong message to the world, Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Valeriy Chaly has said.
“Neglecting or trading the cause of an [American] nation inspired by those values [devotion to freedom and democracy] — cemented by Americans in their fight for independence and civil rights — would send a wrong message to the people of Ukraine and many others in the world who look to the U.S. as to a beacon of freedom and democracy,” he wrote in the column of the American edition ‘The Hill.’
The ambassador said recent comments by Republican nominee Donald Trump about the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea have raised serious concerns in Kyiv and beyond Ukraine.
“Many in Ukraine are unsure what to think, since Trump's comments stand in sharp contrast to the Republican party platform. Since the Russian aggression, there has been bipartisan support for U.S. sanctions against Russia, and for such sanctions to remain in place until the territorial integrity of Ukraine is restored. Efforts to enhance Ukraine's defense capacity are supported across the aisle, as well, to ensure that Ukraine becomes strong enough to deter Russia’s aggression,” the diplomat wrote.
According to him, such Trump’s comments seem alien to a country seen by partners as a strong defender of democracy and international order.
“Even if Trump's comments are only speculative, and do not really reflect a future foreign policy, they call for appeasement of an aggressor and support the violation of a sovereign country's territorial integrity and another's breach of international law. In the eyes of the world, such comments seem alien to a country seen by partners as a strong defender of democracy and international order,” the ambassador wrote.
Chaly also reminded the U.S. was among the 100 nations which supported the U.N. resolution on "Territorial Integrity of Ukraine" not recognizing Russia's attempt to annex Crimea.