President Barack Obama nominated Marie Yovanovitch for the post of the Ambassador to Ukraine, the press service of the White House reported. At the same time, serving US Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey R. Pyatt, who has headed the American diplomatic mission in Ukraine for three years, has been nominated by Obama for the post of the US Ambassador to Greece. In addition, the occupant of the White House announced his intention to appoint new ambassadors in Laos, Iraq, Burundi, and the Philippines.
Yovanovitch worked as an Assistant Secretary of State and was responsible for bilateral relations with the countries of Scandinavia, the Baltic States, and Central European nations. She also served as ambassador to Armenia (2008-11) and Kyrgyzstan (2005-08), as well as in American embassies in Moscow, London, Ottawa, and Mogadishu.
The most important reason for her being chosen to head the Kyiv station was probably the fact that she had already served as the deputy head of mission in Ukraine. Yovanovitch was awarded a number of prizes for her foreign service achievements as well as the Presidential Award for Distinguished Service and the Diplomatic Prize in the Field of Human Rights.
Yovanovitch’s appointment to the post of the US Ambassador to Ukraine was welcomed by former US representative in Ukraine John Herbst. He said: “Marie Yovanovitch will be an excellent ambassador to Ukraine at this crucial moment. She is an experienced head of mission who knows Ukraine and Russia. She is also thoughtful and decisive. And this is precisely what the US and Ukraine need in Kyiv at the moment.”
Yovanovitch is a graduate of Princeton University, where she received a B.A. in History and Russian Studies. She studied at the Pushkin Institute and received an M.S. from the National War College.
Oleksandr TSVIETKOV, Americanist, professor at the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine:
“As for the planned appointment of Yovanovitch, it should be mentioned first that her candidature must still pass the US Senate, which sometimes takes quite a long time because of all the pending appointments of ambassadors and is clearly influenced by public interest to the matter. As for the appointment itself, it is unlikely to bring some dramatic change to the US’ stance on or approach to our country. Yovanovitch is a career diplomat with professional knowledge of the Eurasian region, fluent Russian and, probably, some special training in Ukrainian, to be undergone before her accreditation, and most importantly, good connections in the State Department and the fame of the principal ‘investigator’ in the Kolchuga radar case during her previous stay in a diplomatic post in Ukraine. The latter can indicate precisely the American government’s consistent position regarding the need for firm control measures concerning the problem of corruption and anti-corruption fight in Ukraine.
“One should also pay attention to the fact that the appointment is being prepared by a Democratic administration just as primaries enter the final stage and on the eve of the presidential election in the US. Thus indirectly, it can reflect a continuation or rather an intention to continue the Democratic party’s policies towards Ukraine through the current rotation of ambassadors, who, as we know, are seen as political appointees in that country. It sends a direct signal to our country on the administration’s priorities in the political game unfolding in advance of the presidential election, and at the same time serves as insurance in case of a change of power through the election, I mean insurance made possible by appointing a new ambassador to our country.”
