Subject: Victor Pinchuk
From: Amitabh Desai <[email-masked]>
To: Tina Flournoy <[email-masked]>, Jon Davidson <[email-masked]>, "Margaret Steenburg" <[email-masked]>
Cc: Jake Sullivan <[email-masked]>, Dan Schwerin <[email-masked]>, Huma - HRC Office Address <[email-masked]>, John Podesta <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 30 Mar 2015 13:53:35 +0000

Victor Pinchuk is relentlessly following up (including this morning) about a meeting with WJC in London or anywhere in Europe. Ideally he wants to bring together a few western leaders to show support for Ukraine, with WJC probably their most important participant. If that's not palatable for us, then he'd like a bilat with WJC.

If it's not next week, that's fine, but he wants a date. I keep saying we have no Europe plans, although we do have those events in London in June. Are folks  comfortable offering Victor a private meeting on one of those dates? At this point I get the impression that although I keep saying WJC cares about Ukraine, Pinchuk feels like WJC hasn't taken enough action to demonstrate that, particularly during this existential moment for the county and for him. 

I sense this is so important because Pinchuk is under Putin's heel right now, feeling a great degree of pressure and pain for his many years of nurturing stronger ties with the West. 

I get all the downsides and share the concerns. I am happy to go back and say no. It would just be good to know what WJC (and HRC and you all) would like to do, because this will likely impact the future of this relationship, and slow walking our reply will only reinforce his growing angst. 

Thanks, and sorry for the glum note on a Monday morning...