Blinken: Victoria Nuland to Retire in Coming Weeks

Facts

• US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Tuesday that Victoria Nuland, the third-ranking US official known for her staunch support of Ukraine in its conflict against Russia, will resign as Under Secretary of State for political affairs in the coming weeks.¹
• In a statement, Blinken praised Nuland for her 'fierce passion' in promoting freedom, democracy, and human rights abroad. He also referred to her efforts in Ukraine, saying they were 'indispensable to confronting [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s full-scale invasion.'²
• It is expected that the current US Ambassador to NATO, Julianne Smith, will be nominated to replace Nuland in a permanent capacity, while Under Secretary of State for Management, John Bass, was asked to serve as acting undersecretary, according to Blinken.³
• Assistant Sec. of State for Europe during the Obama administration, Nuland resigned after the election of Donald Trump and returned as Under Sec. of State for Political Affairs under Joe Biden. Nuland served as Deputy Sec. of State until Kurt Campbell took office in February.⁴
• The Russian Foreign Ministry described Nuland's departure as a sign of 'the failure of the anti-Russian course of the Biden administration.' Nuland played a central role in supporting the protests that led to the overthrow of the pro-Russian president of Ukraine in early 2014.⁵
• Following the death of Russian political activist Alexei Navalny, and amid the second anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Nuland in February announced plans for 'hundreds and hundreds and hundreds' of new US sanctions against Russia.⁶

Sources: ¹Washington Post, ²Yahoo News, ³CNN, ⁴ABC News, ⁵The New York Times and ⁶Reuters.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by The New York Times. Nuland's retirement marks the loss of a courageous advocate of the democratic values that shape US foreign policy. It was Nuland who rightly warned against Moscow's expansionism and played a key role in the US response to Russia's Ukraine invasion. Nuland's plans to retire may indicate that Washington will place more emphasis on US-China relations, but her decades of advocacy for democracy and freedom have left their mark on US foreign policy.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Responsible Statecraft. Nuland's departure is to be welcomed, as she personified a US foreign policy characterized by arrogance and ideological hubris. As a liberal hawk, she not only promoted interventionism that sowed instability around the world, but was also one of the most aggressive proponents of NATO expansion and the US proxy war against Russia. That she was able to maintain a prominent role in US foreign policy for decades speaks volumes about how little the art of diplomacy is valued in US foreign policy.

Predictions