Victoria Nuland, US Assistant Secretary of State for Europe, talks to Anthony Manduca about Europe’s migration crisis, dealing with Turkey and Russia and the consequences of a Brexit.
It’s up to the EU to decide where the US can be helpful in Europe’s migration crisis, as the US does not want to interject itself “in family business until the family is ready”, according to Ms Nuland.
However, she made it clear the US felt that Europe’s migration crisis was “affecting not only the question of Schengen’s effectiveness but also economics, politics and the very fabric of a tolerant, open, democratic Europe which we so depend on”.
During her brief visit to Malta she told The Sunday Times of Malta the US could share its own migration experience with Europe. “I think Europeans forget that in recent years the US had its own migration pressures from Central America, so I think we have an experience we can share. We now have a formal request from Greece to Nato countries for humanitarian support, and we’ll be eager to answer that.
“From the US perspective, we are eager to be as helpful as the EU will invite us to be. Chancellor Angela Merkel, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu agreed on the Nato mission in the territorial waters of Turkey and Greece; we were ready to agree within 36 hours at Nato that this was a good idea and contribute our own support for that, so we are open to any other ideas that the EU family has on how we can help.”
Ms Nuland left for Greece after her Malta visit to try to “better understand” the situation it faced, as some of the borders were closed, and whether there was concrete technical support the US could give.
Ms Nuland, who accompanied then Secretary of State Hilary Clinton to Malta in 2011 in her previous role as State Department spokeswoman, said it was “good to be back” in Malta.
Her visit, which included discussions with Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Foreign Minister George Vella, “was a chance to come and talk about the things we are doing together, obviously migration, refugee issues and Libya – where we have a shared interest in seeing peace and reconciliation”.
She said her talks in Malta also focused on how the two countries could strengthen aspects of their partnership, including economic ties. Ms Nuland also met organisations working on migration to hear their perspectives.
“Malta itself has been grappling with these [migration] issues for quite a number of years now and you have gone through various stages of your own, learning how to deal with migrants when they arrive, how to integrate them, to employ them, issues of tolerance… so it was interesting to talk to your leaders about their participation in European fora where other European countries are confronting challenges Malta has worked on for some time.”
Isn’t the long-term solution to the migration crisis an end to the conflict in Syria?
“Obviously, ending the war in Syria will have a major impact on the flows into Europe, which is why you see my boss, John Kerry, so very active in trying to midwife first the cessation of hostilities and now the next stage with [UN special envoy for Syria] Staffan de Mistura about a political transition at the same time that we have to combat Isis.
We are grateful for Malta’s solidarity inside the EU
“I would say we are now at the stage where only half the migrants to Europe are from Syria, we’re seeing migrants from Iraq, Afghanistan and North Africa. There’s also the question of separating refugees fleeing violence from economic migrants.”
Ms Nuland’s responsibilities include relations with Turkey, a close ally of the US and a Nato partner. However, the Turkish government has been growing increasingly authoritarian, especially in the way it deals with the media, and its attitude towards the Kurds in Syria certainly hasn’t helped the war against the so-called IS.
In reality, how much leverage does the US have over Ankara when it comes to influencing its policies?
“We have a long and deep alliance with Turkey. We are working on many things together, including countering Isis and strengthening Turkey’s border security, but we are not shy when we have concerns about the democratic trajectory of Turkey.
“We have not been shy over the past week about our concerns about a free press, an open society – the bedrock values all Nato nations have.”
Vice President Joe Biden, she added, was in Turkey in January and made very strong remarks about the importance, not just for the political fabric of Turkey but for its economic openness, of a free press.
“With regard to the PKK [Kurdistan Workers’ Party] and its violence inside Turkey, we and the EU both recognise the PKK as a terrorist organisation. There is no excuse ever for trying to achieve your political aims through violence.
“What we want to see is Ankara and the moderate Kurds able to get back to a political conversation about appropriate rights, but you have to isolate and you have to deal with those who chose violence.”
Regarding Turkey’s attitude towards the Kurds in Syria, Ms Nuland said Washington was “of necessity” working with some of the Syrian Kurds to combat Isis, as well as working with Turkey “intensively on strengthening their own border security”.
She added: “We just had our Secretary for Homeland Security in Turkey, so any concerns they might have about cross pollination between the PYD [Kurdish Democratic Union Party, a Syrian affiliate of the PKK] and the PKK, they are handling through effective border control and through intelligence cooperation. But we share with Turkey the necessity of dealing with Isis in Syria and we will continue to have that conversation with Turkey.”
The Assistant Secretary of State’s portfolio includes relations with Russia, which over the last few years has adopted a belligerent foreign policy, particularly in Syria and Ukraine.
Are we back to the Cold War?
“I think there is no question that Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, which violated international law and tried to change borders by force, is unacceptable to us and unacceptable to Europe. We have taken steps for those actions, there are layers of sanctions which we have levied on Russia, and we are grateful for Malta’s solidarity inside the EU.”
At the same time, the US supported the Minsk process as a way to create a more decentralised Ukraine. And Russia, she said, had to withdraw its forces, its fighters, to restore the border and to restore sovereignty to Ukraine. So if Russia wanted to settle this there was a path out and that was through Minsk.
“Until then we need to keep sanctions on Russia.”
Similarly, she added, in Syria the US has been absolutely clear that even as Russia claimed that its military deployments in Syria were about Isis, 75 to 80 per cent of the strikes were not on Isis targets.
“We are now in a situation where we have a ceasefire that is holding in most places, but there are places where it is not holding so we are working intensively, both bilaterally with Russia and in this larger international grouping, to try to hold all sides, including Russia, Assad and Iran, to this cessation of hostilities so we stand a chance of getting the parties to the table.
“Again, it’s a test for Russia. Russia can implement the agreements it has made through the Geneva process or it can reheat hostilities, but it will only be able to have positive cooperation with us if it chooses to play an affirmative role in peace in Syria and end the kind of policies driving more migrants to Europe.”
How concerned is the US about a possible Brexit?
“We have made no secret of our strong position – that we want to see a strong UK inside a strong EU, and we think there are consequences for Europe, there are consequences for the UK, and there are economic and political consequences. We think the EU is stronger and the UK is stronger when they are together.
“Obviously, this is a case that will have to be made inside the UK; we won’t be shy about our views.
“I think US business in the UK as the launching point into Europe would also be affected, as would the UK citizens they employ in the case of a Brexit.”