Published 18:02 IST, November 7th 2019
US ' discussion on buying Greenland put Ukraine crisis at bay
US ' discussion on buying Greenland put the Ukraine crisis at bay said Bill Taylor, US ambassador to Ukraine in his testimony at House committee on October 22
According to a Congressional testimony that was released on November 7, a good number of Trump’s top officials were too busy pursuing the US President's interest in buying Greenland. Therefore, they failed to arrange a meeting with him to discuss restoring military aid to Ukraine that he cut off. Acting US ambassador to Ukraine Bill Taylor testified to the Congress on October 22, transcripts of which were released on Wednesday, and disclosed that Trump’s order in mid-July to cut off security assistance triggered a series of high-level meetings with cabinet members on how to get it resumed. Restoring security assistance was a top priority given the urgency of the Russian military intervention in eastern Ukraine.
NSC discussed Greenland instead of Ukraine crisis
It was the unanimous opinion of every level of inter-agency discussion that the aid should be restored, said, Taylor. They also wanted the Secretaries of State and Defense as well as the CIA director and the national security adviser to work together to arrange an urgent meeting with Trump to convince him to release the hold, he added. Yet there were no meetings until September as the cabinet secretaries involved went on work trips. Moreover, the National Security Council made a lot of effort to discuss Greenland, Talor said.
Trump said the US is strategically interested in buying Greenland
Further in Taylor's testimony, it was mentioned that on August 20, Trump canceled a trip to Denmark on the grounds that the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, had no interest in discussing the purchase of Greenland. The PM called the entire proposition absurd. Speaking on the issue Trump said that the US is interested strategically and will talk to the country's administration over it. He added that though it was on his mind, it isn't a priority.
Adam Schiff called the Greenland issue 'disturbing'
The testimony suggests that the NSC used a lot of resources over Greenland rather than taking up the rightful and more important issues. The US Ambassador testified that Rudy Giuliani was withholding the security assistance as a form of leverage to convince the Ukrainian government to investigate the president’s political rivals. Adam Schiff, the chair of the House committee also called the Greenland issue quite disturbing. Taylor too seconded Schiff's remarks.
(With inputs from Agencies)
Updated 20:26 IST, November 7th 2019