The Ukrainian ex-President Petro Poroshenko said he had a meeting with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in Kiev and said that it was constructive and reaffirmed the importance of Ukraine for Washington.
Blinken on Thursday begins the official part of his two-day visit to Kiev, where he will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Prime Minister Denis Shmygal and Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba.
“The more than an hour meeting with the US Secretary of State, a great friend of Ukraine Anthony Blinken and a representative delegation ended, including with the participation of the new US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland. The meeting was very constructive and symbolic, because when Ukraine visits Ukraine among the first countries, one of the highest US officials is a symbol of the importance of Ukraine for the United States”, – Poroshenko said.
According to him, at the meeting, the US Secretary of State noted the importance of concentrating efforts on reforms, in particular, on corporate governance reform and reform in the field of anti-corruption infrastructure, as well as the rule of law.
“I handed over to the Secretary of State Non Paper, where I set out a clear position on the development of our cooperation. It includes the need to obtain an action plan for NATO membership, and support Ukraine in its positions in the negotiations on NATO and EU membership. There are very specific requests for assistance to us in countering the coronavirus, from the supply of equipment to the supply of vaccines. We asked for the US to take part in the Crimean platform, also discussed the activation of the Normandy format, the appointment of a US special envoy to repel Russian aggression and coordinate with the EU, noted the importance of cooperation with the IMF”, – Poroshenko added.
He also noted that the meeting showed that the members of the American delegation are “friends of Ukraine” who have good knowledge of the situation in the country.