“This was the goal of Volodymyr Zelensky from the first days of his presidency – to visit the White House. There were different factors why it did not work out earlier. The first of them, I believe, is connected with the actions of the Ukrainian side. visits through lobbyists – the so-called, excuse me, entering the White House through the “back door,” the diplomat said.
According to him, “we have now followed the traditional, normal, diplomatic path.”
“It’s good that the United States and [нынешний глава Белого дома] Joseph Biden even pushed into the background some moments that arose in connection with the actions of the circle of President Volodymyr Zelensky, and thus simply showed his positive attitude towards the whole of Ukraine, the whole people, “Chaly said.
The former ambassador believes: despite Zelensky’s statement that he “did not feel chemistry” at the meeting with Biden, “there was a frank conversation that dealt with sensitive topics on the defense of Ukraine, on security issues and, apparently, on the homework of Volodymyr Zelensky.”
“Whether he fulfills his obligations, we will see in the coming months,” Chaly stressed.
Zelensky on the night of August 31 arrived in Washington with a working visit. He met with Biden the next day.
Biden and Zelenskiy first made a joint statement to the media. The head of the White House said that the partnership between Ukraine and the United States as strong as ever, and it will get even stronger. Biden noted that he wants come on a visit to Ukraine… Zelensky asked Biden, how the United States can help free about 450 Ukrainian prisonerswho are in the temporarily occupied territory of Donetsk and Lugansk regions, in the annexed Crimea and the Russian Federation.
After that, meeting of Biden and Zelensky – with advisers and face to face.
Even before the end of the meeting of the Presidents of the United States and Ukraine, they made a joint statement on the strategic partnership between the countries. In particular, both states called on the Russian Federation fulfill ceasefire commitments in the Donbass. The document onit is noted that the United States “does not recognize and will never recognize the attempt to annex Crimea by the Russian Federation”, as well as completely support international efforts on the settlement of the conflict “unleashed by Russia in the east of Ukraine.”
Before meeting with Zelensky Biden statedand looks forward to welcoming the Ukrainian president to the White House “to reaffirm America’s commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and Euro-Atlantic aspirations.”
Zelensky became president at the inauguration in May 2019.
Chaly was Ukraine’s ambassador to Washington from 2015 to 2019.
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