Cautious US not crowing on Ukraine

'US fears that worse is to come that this is a conflict that is spinning out of control,' says senior program officer.

WASHINGTON: The United States found itself on the side of the victors in Ukraine's political crisis on Monday - but took pains not to crow.

Washington opted for calculated caution over celebration following the flight of President Viktor Yanukovych, as the opposition in Kiev exchanged a bloody uprising for a perilous political transition.

Obama administration spokespeople delicately navigated press briefings, wary of further bruising Russian pride after the fall of a Kiev client.

The public reticence defied a reflex for schadenfreude amid frustration here over Moscow's backing for another repressive leader, Syria's President Bashar al-Assad.

The White House knows its fragile ties with President Vladimir Putin are vital to easing nuclear talks with Iran and the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

But there was also a sense that Ukraine's latest revolution is not an end point and that many unknowns remain before its seething politics settle.

Washington has already warned against two possible, if apparently unlikely, scenarios: a splintering of  Ukraine into pro-Russia and pro-Europe slices and a Russian military incursion.

"The Americans have certainly in mind that they do need a sort of constructive relationship with Russia," said Joerg Forbrig, senior program officer at the German Marshall Fund's office in Berlin.

"The US may (also) fear that worse is to come, that this is a conflict that is spinning out of control, where the Russians are absolutely not ready to sort of compromise, where they will fight tooth and nail."

The White House called Monday for the formation of a technocratic government in Kiev to work towards early elections.

It also dispatched State Department number two, William Burns, to Kiev to stress and assess the need for economic and political reforms.

Interim leader Oleksandr Turchynov painted a dire portrait of Ukraine's plight, after pictures of Yanucovych's opulent palace, complete with galleon and personal zoo, lit up the Internet.

"Most government workers have quit their posts. The coffers are empty. We don't have enough money to pay our debts," he said.

Burns will be the highest profile US visitor since another senior State Department diplomat, Victoria Nuland met protestors in central Kiev in December.

Nuland's appearance was the boldest US gesture yet on Ukraine, but Washington has mostly been content to let European diplomats take the lead.

The United States also worked behind the scenes to frame a financial aid package to support reform in Ukraine -- left high and dry without a $15 billion loan promised by Moscow.

Washington however stopped short of describing Turchynov, named by lawmakers to head the transition, as the country's legitimate leader.

Throughout the crisis, sparked by massive street protests in Kiev, Washington leavened support for demonstrators with assurances it is not interfering in Russia's former post-Soviet orbit.

Obama last week told Russia he was not plotting over a giant Cold War-style chessboard.

He spent an hour on Friday on the phone with Putin, despite Washington's rejection of Moscow's vision of a "sphere of influence" in the region.

However, action born of pure motives in Washington often looks different in Moscow.

Policies like expanding NATO eastwards and a US missile defense shield in Europe have riled Russia.

US officials said it was a mere coincidence Monday that Obama met Irakli Garibashvili, prime minister of Georgia, a state with a westward gaze that has already had Moscow and Washington at odds.

Obama offered "unwavering" support for Georgia's "Euro-Atlantic aspirations." NATO has promised Tblisi can join the Western alliance at an unspecified date.

Jen Psaki, a State Department spokeswoman, said there was no reason for Moscow to ascribe "Cold War" motives to Washington over Ukraine.

Ukraine's future is up to Ukrainians, not "the United States, Europe, Russia or any other entity," she said.

Another senior official said on condition of anonymity that US support for Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine was "not part of some zero-sum game with Russia."

"We do not believe that the decision of these countries to pursue a European path should preclude them from having productive relations with Moscow, a point that we have made to Russian counterparts up and down the chain of command."

Officials also said that an International Monetary Fund aid package discussed at a G20 finance ministers meeting in Australia plus possible US aid could approach value of the now suspended Russian loan.

"I think it's clear that the IMF has actually the capacity to certainly loan Ukraine whatever the amount is that Ukraine needs," a senior official said.

Washington is not yet ready to put a figure on the exact dollar amount Ukraine could receive.