In May 2013,Nuland was nominated to act as assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs[24] and was sworn in on September 18,2013.[25] In her role as assistant secretary,she managed diplomatic relations with fifty countries in Europe and Eurasia,as well as with NATO,the European Union and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.[citation needed]
Ukraine
During the Maidan Uprising in Ukraine,Nuland made appearances supporting the Maidan protesters.[26] In December 2013,she said in a speech to the US–Ukraine Foundation that the U.S. had invested over $5 billion on democratic skills and institutions,civic participation,and good governance in Ukraine since 1991. She stated that these were preconditions for Ukraine to achieve its European aspirations.[27][26] The Russian government seized on this statement,claiming it was evidence the U.S. was orchestrating a color revolution.[26]
On February 4,2014,a recording of a phone call between Nuland and U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt on January 28,2014,was published on YouTube.[28][29][30][31][32][33] The call followed an offer made on January 25,2014,by Ukrainian president Yanukovych to include two members of the opposition in his government to calm the Maidan protests in Ukraine,one being that of his prime minister.[34] Nuland and Pyatt voiced their opinions of this offer,specifically on the post of prime minister,giving their opinion of several opposition personalities. Nuland told Pyatt that Arseniy Yatsenyuk would be the best candidate to hold this post.[29][30] Nuland suggested the United Nations,rather than the European Union,should be involved in a full political solution,adding "fuck the EU". The following day,Christiane Wirtz,Deputy Government Spokesperson and Deputy Head of the Press and Information Office of the German Federal Government,stated that German Chancellor Angela Merkel termed Nuland's remark "absolutely unacceptable."[35] The president of the European Council,Herman Van Rompuy,condemned the remark as "unacceptable".[36][37] Department of State spokesperson Jen Psaki said the discussion was not evidence of any American plan to influence the political outcome,remarking that "It shouldn't be a surprise that at any point there have been discussions about recent events and offers and what is happening on the ground".[38]
Nuland was the lead U.S. point person for Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity,establishing loan guarantees to Ukraine,including a $1 billion loan guarantee in 2014,and the provisions of non-lethal assistance to the Ukrainian military and border guard.[39][40] Along with Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Defense Ash Carter,she is seen as a leading supporter of defensive weapons delivery to Ukraine. In 2016,Nuland urged Ukraine to start prosecuting corrupt officials:"It's time to start locking up people who have ripped off the Ukrainian population for too long and it is time to eradicate the cancer of corruption".[41] While serving as the Department of State's lead diplomat on the Ukraine crisis,Nuland pushed European allies to take a harder line on Russian expansionism.[42]
During a June 7,2016,Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearing titled "Russian Violations of Borders,Treaties,and Human Rights",Nuland described U.S. diplomatic outreach to the former Soviet Union and efforts to build a constructive relationship with Russia. During her testimony,Nuland noted de facto 2014 Russian intervention of Ukraine which she said,"shattered any remaining illusions about this Kremlin's willingness to abide by international law or live by the rules of the institutions that Russia joined at the end of the Cold War."[43]
Outside of government,Trump administration
Nuland left the State Department in January 2017,amid the departure of many other career officials during the early days of the Trump administration.[44]
On January 24,2018,The Washington Post published an interview with Nuland where she opined on the work of President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. She described an exodus of career foreign service officials and dysfunction within the State Department,and stated that the American judiciary and media were under assault. Nuland also decried a trend towards American isolationism,stating:"When we withdraw and say it's every nation for itself,you open the door for countries dissatisfied with their territorial position and influence in the international system—or with the system itself." She encouraged whole-government responses to international issues,stating,"Military leaders would be the first to say military solutions alone result in more and longer military entanglements. The role of American diplomats and political leaders is to work concurrently with the military to bring to bear all of the political tools we have."[45]
In January 2018,the Trump administration began new high-level engagements with Russian government officials by scheduling a meeting between Russia's top general Valery Gerasimov and the NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe,General Curtis Scaparrotti. Nuland stated,"These channels are especially vital at a time when relations at the leader level are so unpredictable." She said Scaparrotti was "uniquely positioned" to address concerns about Russia's "ongoing military role in Ukraine,its INF treaty violations,its active measures to undermine Transatlantic democracies and the other strategic tensions that are driving the US and its allies to take stronger deterrent measures."[46]
On January 5,2021,it was reported that President-elect Joe Biden would nominate Nuland to serve as under secretary of state for political affairs under Antony Blinken,who had been nominated to serve as secretary of state.[3] Hearings on Nuland's nomination were held by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on April 15,2021. The committee favorably reported Nuland's nomination on April 21,2021. On April 29,2021,her nomination was confirmed unanimously by the Senate by voice vote,and she started her work as under secretary of state on May 3,2021.[47]
Nuland with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Secretary of State Blinken in Jerusalem,Israel,May 25,2021
In July 2021,Nuland met with Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya in Washington.[48] In March 2022,Nuland expressed concern that Russia would get control of Ukraine's biological research facilities during its invasion of Ukraine.[49][50][51]
Nuland visited Delhi in March 2022 and suggested that there was an "evolution of thinking in India." She said that the US and Europe should be "defense and security partners" of India,and that Russia's invasion of Ukraine presents a "major inflection point in the autocratic-democratic struggle."[52]
At a congressional hearing in early 2023,Nuland stated regarding the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline sabotage,"I am,and I think the administration is,very gratified to know that Nord Stream 2 is now . . . a hunk of metal at the bottom of the sea."[53]
In a February 2024 interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour,Nuland advocated for congressional approval of a $95.34 billion aid package,which is also designated for Ukraine,by delivering the following remarks:"We have to remember that the bulk of this money is going right back into the U.S.,to make those weapons."[54]
On March 5,2024,it was announced Nuland will retire that month. She had hoped to succeed Wendy Sherman as deputy secretary of state,but President Biden nominated Kurt M. Campbell to that position.[55][8]
↑ Gellene, Denise (March 4, 2014). "Sherwin B. Nuland, Author of 'How We Die,' Is Dead at 83". The New York Times. Dr. Nuland's first marriage ended in divorce. In 1977, he married Sarah Peterson, an actress and director. Besides his wife, survivors include two children from his first marriage, Victoria Jane Nuland, the assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, and Andrew; two children from his second marriage, Amelia and William; and four grandchildren.
↑ "Victoria Nuland". United States Department of State. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
↑ "Victoria Nuland". Brookings. April 2, 2019. Archived from the original on June 14, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
↑ "Ambassador Victoria Nuland". NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR DEMOCRACY. January 22, 2018. Archived from the original on April 30, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
↑ Re Post (February 4, 2014). "Марионетки Майдана"[Puppets in the Public Square (marionetke maidana)]. YouTube. Archived from the original on June 19, 2014. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
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