(PresidentialWire.com)- Despite various calls to do so, the White House has so far said it will not re-open the American embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Some former U.S. diplomats, current lawmakers and other people have sought to get the Biden administration to re-open the embassy, in part to serve as a sign that the West is strong and united against Russia and its invasion of Ukraine.
In February, Antony Blinken, the U.S. secretary of state, said the White House would be “temporarily relocating” its embassy operations to Lviv from the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. Later that month, on the 24th, the State Department announced embassy operations in the entire country would be suspended.
Reports are surfacing, though, that various U.S. diplomats wish to see the U.S. embassy return to Ukraine, specifically Kyiv.
Media outlet The Hill reported recently that officials in the White House are debating when would be a good time to re-open the embassy. For now, though, that decision has been placed on hold.
The Biden administration apparently wants diplomats to start taking some more risks, but there remain serious concerns regarding whether they would be safe over in Ukraine as the war rages on.
One senior U.S. official told Politico that “half of State [Department] want to do it,” and half of the White House staff wants to, too. “Other halves oppose and say too soon,” the official said.
One former ambassador from the U.S. to Ukraine, William Taylor, said that many U.S. diplomats who are assigned to Ukraine told him privately that they are ready to return to the country’s capital city.
These diplomats have confided in Taylor that they believe they can better fulfill their duties in Kyiv instead of elsewhere, as they would have additional access to people living in Ukraine from all different backgrounds, and that includes officials with the Ukrainian government.
As Taylor explained:
“They listen to, get messages from, hear what the Ukrainians are thinking. You can’t do that from any place other than Kyiv.”
It’s not just current diplomats and former foreign officials who are pressing the Biden administration to re-open the embassy, though. Republican Senator Jim Risch from Idaho, not only wants the U.S. to re-open the Kyiv embassy, he wants President Joe Biden to nominate an official ambassador to the country. That position has remained vacant for many years.
As Risch said:
“U.S. embassies have operated in similar environments before, and a renewed U.S. presence in Kyiv is vital to efforts to assist the Ukrainians.”
Politico also reported that Republican Senators Steve Daines from Montana and Jerry Moran from Kansas wrote Blinken a letter that urged him to re-open the Kyiv embassy.
The letter read:
“With Ukraine’s successful defense of Kyiv and Russia’s subsequent withdrawal of forces from the areas surrounding the capital, we encourage you to fully open the United States Embassy without delay.”
And Oklahoma Republican Senator Jim Inhofe said the Biden administration “has not even suggested it will return its diplomats to anywhere in the country.”
