Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland Caught on Tape: 'Fuck the EU'

At Time, "Leaked Audio Depicts US Diplomat Cursing EU." And following the links, at AP, "US SEES RUSSIAN HAND IN ENVOY'S BUGGED CALL."

And also at the New York Times, "U.S. Points to Russia as Diplomats’ Private Call Is Posted on Web":

Sort of controversial judgment from Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland speaking about the EU (3:01) http://t.co/ifsuc44d14

— Dmitry Loskutov (@DLoskutov) February 6, 2014

WASHINGTON — After months of taking grief for snooping on foreign leaders, the Obama administration found itself on the other side on Thursday after a private telephone call between two American diplomats appeared on the Internet in a breach that the White House tied to Russia.

In the recording, an assistant secretary of state and the ambassador to Ukraine are heard talking about the political crisis in Kiev, their views of how it might be resolved, their assessments of the various opposition leaders and their frustrations with their European counterparts. At one point, the assistant secretary uses an expletive in a reference to the European Union.

The conversation opened a window into the American handling of the crisis and could easily inflame passions in Kiev, Brussels and Moscow, where the role of the United States has been controversial. The White House on Thursday suggested that Russia, which has jockeyed with the United States and Europe for influence in Ukraine, played some role in the interception or dissemination of the conversation.

“The video was first noted and tweeted out by the Russian government,” Jay Carney, the White House press secretary, told reporters. “I think it says something about Russia’s role.”

Asked if he was accusing Russia of recording the conversation, Mr. Carney said: “I’m not. I’m just noting that they tweeted it out.”

In a later briefing, Jen Psaki, the State Department spokeswoman, said she had no information about who posted the recording but criticized Moscow for promoting it. “Certainly we think this is a new low in Russian tradecraft,” she said.

Another administration official privately confirmed the authenticity of the tape, which was posted anonymously on YouTube on Tuesday under a Russian headline, “Puppets of Maidan,” referring to the square occupied by protesters, and reported on Thursday by the Kyiv Post.

A link to the secret recording was sent out in a Twitter message earlier Thursday by the account of Dmitry Loskutov, an aide to Russia’s deputy prime minister. “Sort of controversial judgment from Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland speaking about the EU,” the message said, clearly trying to drive a wedge between the United States and Europe.

Obama administration officials took that as confirmation of their suspicion that the conversation was intercepted or at least disseminated by Russia’s government, which has sheltered Edward J. Snowden, the National Security Agency contractor who exposed American eavesdropping of foreign leaders like Angela Merkel of Germany.

While the revelation prompted the White House to cancel surveillance of friendly foreign leaders like Ms. Merkel, administration officials defended themselves by noting that many governments spy on American officials as well. American diplomats have long assumed that their telephone calls were tapped by Moscow, but rarely if ever have the Russians made recordings public.

The administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the fact that this one was made public was a sign of desperation by the Russians, who in this view are trying to stop the Americans from brokering a settlement of the standoff between President Viktor F. Yanukovych and the Ukrainian opposition. It came to light even as Ms. Nuland was in Kiev on Thursday talking with both Mr. Yanukovych and opposition leaders.

There's a discussion at RT, FWIW, "'F**k the EU': US State Dept. official in phone chat on Ukraine posted online."