U.S. Alludes To Russian Hand In Envoy To Ukraine's Bugged Call

The leaked recording is of an apparently bugged phone conversation between Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland (pictured) and U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoff Pyatt.

The United States says Russia might have had a role in the leak of an apparently bugged phone conversation between Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoff Pyatt.

In the call, which was released online accompanied by Russian captions, voices resembling those of Nuland and Pyatt discuss Ukraine.

At one point, the Nuland voice uses an expletive to describe her frustration with the European Union efforts to resolve Ukraine's political crisis.

White House spokesman Carney refused to discuss any details of the private conversation.

But he added, "Since the recording was first noted and tweeted out by the Russian government I think that says something about Russia's role."

Carney, however, said that Nuland has been working with her EU counterparts "and relations with the EU are stronger than ever."

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki subsequently said Nuland “has been in contact with her EU counterparts and of course has apologized” for the reported comments.

Based on reporting by AP and AFP