WASHINGTON, July 24 - The Trump administration is taking new moves to flex its diplomatic muscle to calm escalating tensions over Russia’s effort to bully Ukraine and its annexation of Crimea, the Washington Examiner reported Wednesday.

President Trump has dispatched former Virginia Gov. James S. Gilmore III to take a lead in the international dispute at the Vienna-based Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the diplomatic group that spans North America, Europe, and members of the former Soviet Union.

“I think what’s on the U.S. mind at this point is working hard to preserve Ukraine’s sovereignty, because it’s under attack,” said Gilmore, who’s ambassadorial nomination to OSCE was confirmed in the Senate May 23.

“The bottom line is that the United States really needs Europe to be a secure and peaceful place. It really isn’t. So the goal here is to try to effectuate American policy by adding our voice to peace and stability in the continent,” Gilmore said in an interview.

Russian forces moved on Ukraine in 2014 and later annexed the Crimean Peninsula in a move the U.S. and Europe has not recognized. Tensions have since been escalating in Europe over Russia’s action and Gilmore said that he plans to take a leadership role to fix the issue.

“The goal here is to obviously preserve the peace and sovereignty of the people of Europe and not allow that to break down to a conflict, which could happen the way the Russians have been behaving. Of course that manifests itself in Ukraine,” said America’s newest ambassador.

Unlike the global United Nations and the European-based NATO military alliance, Gilmore said that the 57-nation OSCE is unique in its ability to grapple with the Ukraine issue straining European and Russian relations.

“This is an organization that can give European focus on the real serious issues of war and peace that exist in Europe today,” he said.

Gilmore, an Army veteran and former Virginia attorney general, ran for president in 2016 and eventually was a key surrogate for Trump.

He is planning to raise the U.S. profile at OSCE and build support for the U.S. mission back home.

“They want me to be active, they don’t want me to be a passive person in this job, just standing around and just doing what I’m told. Instead they want me to be active and to provide as much leadership as possible,” said Gilmore. (we/ez)