Ukraine Already In as Washington Seeks Allies on Iran, Says US Diplomat
In an interview with Kyiv Post, Daniel Fried, veteran US diplomat and former assistant secretary of state, says Ukraine is already involved as Washington seeks to build a coalition on Iran.
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WASHINGTON, DC – The coalition US President Donald Trump is seeking to build around Gulf security already has one European partner, and that country is Ukraine, veteran US diplomat, a former assistant secretary of state Daniel Fried said in an interview with Kyiv Post.
“Now, of course, there is one major European country which is helping already. And that major European country is Ukraine,” Fried said. “Ukraine wisely offered to send drones and even more importantly, advisers on the use of drones to the Gulf states. It’s doing so.”
Fried said Ukraine’s role should be more openly acknowledged in Washington, especially if the White House hopes to persuade other European governments to join.
“President Trump would be well advised to thank the Ukrainians, especially if he wants other Europeans to help out,” he said.
Estonia, Denmark signal cautious openness
Fried spoke as the Trump administration works to build support for a new coalition to secure the Strait of Hormuz.
While European governments have grown more cautious, some may still be willing to engage.
“The Estonian defense minister in Washington said Estonia was considering it,” Fried said.
He also pointed to Denmark as an example of a country separating political tensions from strategic interests.
“The Danish foreign minister said that Europe ought to consider helping out,” Fried said. “The Danes, of all people, having been threatened, they are able to separate their emotions from their interests in frankly an admirable fashion.”
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Strait of Hormuz pressure was predictable
Ex-US Ambassador Fried said European countries have a direct stake in keeping the Strait of Hormuz open and protecting Gulf states from Iranian attacks, regardless of political hesitation.
He argued that Iran’s actions in the strait and the resulting spike in oil prices should not have come as a surprise.
“It was clear and has been clear for many years that closing the Strait of Hormuz was a tactic in the Iranian playbook,” Fried said. “We shouldn’t act surprised.”
Sanctions relief on Russian oil ‘not a good idea’
Fried criticized the US’s temporary easing of sanctions on Russian oil exports. He said the move may have been intended to ease pressure on global oil prices but came at a strategic cost.
“The good it does to relieve upward pressure on oil prices is outweighed by the damage it does to our overall security interests, which are to not have Russia making money for its war against Ukraine,” Fried said.
He added that extending the measure would likely prove difficult and expressed hope that sanctions on Moscow would soon be fully restored.
“The pressure was really beginning to bite,” he said.
Iran war slows momentum on Ukraine talks
Fried said the war with Iran has diverted attention at a key moment in negotiations over Ukraine.
“One of the casualties of the Iran war is that the pressure that was beginning to mount on Russia to negotiate seriously has been eased,” he said.
He said talks have progressed only on secondary issues, while Russia’s core demands remain unchanged.
“The Russian demands for Ukrainian withdrawal from all of Donbas have remained and these are unrealistic demands,” Fried said.
At the same time, he said discussions on security arrangements involving Ukraine, Europe and the United States have advanced further than expected.
“These arrangements, I’ve been told, including by knowledgeable Ukrainians, are better than they expected and actually solid,” he said.
Fried said even an imperfect settlement could represent a strategic success for Ukraine if it ensures long-term security and recovery.
“It isn’t a just deal,” he said. “It won’t be just while there are any Russian soldiers on Ukrainian territory, but it could be a lasting deal.”
“A free Ukraine could be secure with European and American backing, able to recover and develop,” he added.
But he warned that such an outcome depends on sustained Western pressure on Moscow.
“Putin will keep fighting as long as he believes he can outlast the United States and Europe,” Fried said.
Russia’s neighbors face growing risk
Fried also warned that Russia’s further expansion of its legal authority to deploy forces abroad under the pretext of protecting its citizens should be taken seriously.
“Russia’s neighbors should, as a general rule, always be worried or, rather, prepared for any form of Russian aggression,” he said.
He said the measure is mainly meant to intimidate Russia’s neighbors. But he warned that Moscow’s threats should not be dismissed as empty rhetoric and could also be used as cover for a provocation or limited operation.
“I think the principal purpose of these actions is to intimidate Russia’s neighbors,” Fried said. “It is possible that Russia could mount an operation, ‘little green men’ or some special forces raid. It would be safer for them to do so in a non-NATO country.”
“I also think the Russians are trying to intimidate Estonia with propaganda about a ‘people’s republic of Narva,’ which of course mirrors the nonsense about a ‘people’s republic of Donetsk’ and a ‘people’s republic of Luhansk,’ which served as the pretext for Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian territory.”
Fried noted that Russia has signaled aggressive intent before and then followed through.
“Putin threatened Crimea at the Bucharest NATO summit in April 2008. He was serious. We did not take his words seriously enough,” he said.
He said Estonia, unlike many Western governments in earlier years, is not underestimating the danger.
“Fortunately, the Estonians do take Putin’s threats seriously,” Fried said. “The Estonians are ready to fight. They’re not going to be paralyzed in the face of ‘little green men’ appearing in Narva.”
Fried said non-NATO states should also stay alert. Moldova is already well aware of the risks, he said, while Kazakhstan understands that Russian nationalists have long had designs on the country’s north, where there is a substantial ethnic Russian population. Azerbaijan, he added, is also aware of the possibility of Russian pressure.
