Ukraine Faces Destabilization Inside, Outside Borders -Former US Ambassador

Former US ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton said that the Ukrainian government faces risk of destabilization from outside force and internal dissent.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The government of Ukraine faces destabilization from outside force and internal dissent, former US ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton told Sputnik when asked if the radical Right Sector group in Ukraine could upset the outcome of the recent Minsk agreement.

“I think there is a risk that the government of Ukraine is itself being destabilized,” Bolton told Sputnik on Friday.

The leadership of the radical Right Sector in Ukraine announced it would not abide by the Minsk ceasefire agreement, that was signed by leaders of Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine and outlined a number of measures aimed at ending the conflict in southeastern Ukraine.

Bolton emphasized the need for US leadership in resolving the crisis in Ukraine. In order to alleviate the risk of destabilization in the country, the United States has to make it clear “that we want Ukraine to be able to determine its own future,” Bolton noted.

“We [the United States] should be trying to strengthen the institutions of government in Kiev and allowing them to try to negotiate and have the strength to resist anybody’s attempt to determine the outcome by force,” Bolton said.

The political issues to be addressed through the Minsk agreement are the most “worrisome,” Bolton said during a Friday speech to the Defense Forum Foundation. His main concern is that increased autonomy for parts of the Donbas “may serve as a precedent for increased autonomy from Kiev for other provinces” in Ukraine.

The Right Sector radical party has historically referred to Russia as an enemy, and threatened to oust Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.