Washington, February 8 (RHC)-- A top U.S. State Department official has apologized to her European counterparts after she was caught cursing the European Union in a leaked audio recording that was posted to YouTube.
The recording captured an intercepted phone conversation between the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine and Victoria Nuland, the top U.S. diplomat for Europe. Nuland expresses frustration over Europe’s response to the political crisis in Ukraine using frank terms.
On the posted video that went viral, Victoria Nuland says: "So that would be great, I think, to help glue this thing and have the UN help glue it and you know, F—- the E.U."
Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Victoria Nuland is also caught on the tape showing just how involved the United States is in Ukrainian politics. The leaked recording emerged while Nuland was in Ukraine, where she met with President Viktor Yanukovych and handed out food to opposition protesters.
The Barack Obama administration has suggested Russia is behind the leak. A Russian official, meanwhile, has accused the United States of "crudely interfering" in Ukraine. The spat comes as the Winter Olympics opened yesterday in the Russian city of Sochi.