Ukraine has high hopes for the meeting between head of state Vladimir Zelensky and US President Joe Biden, however, it is likely that only the “minimum programme” will be implemented
That was stated by Kirill Koktysh, Associate Professor of Political Theory Department at MGIMO, to Izvestia on Tuesday, August 31.
According to the expert, the Ukrainian side has high hopes for this visit – among other things, it expects that the United States will renew its actions against the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. Kiev is also hoping for some promises on NATO participation, the political scientist added.
“The minimum programme, which I think will be fulfilled, is for Zelensky to get a re-election mandate. Because Ukraine is essentially under American foreign control, and without Washington’s direct approval, re-election is unlikely. Most likely, Zelensky will achieve this because there is no bright alternative – he is no worse and no better than the others”, – Koktysh said.
At the same time, the expert stressed that the maximum programme which Kiev is counting on is unlikely to be implemented. In his opinion, for the USA to get involved in “some radical things” after the events in Afghanistan would be suicidal, the Americans themselves understand this very well, he concluded.
Earlier in the day, it was reported that the Ukrainian president arrived in the US capital to meet the White House chief. On his Instagram page, Zelensky posted a photo showing him and his wife Olena descending the ramp from the plane that arrived in the US capital.
The meeting between Zelensky and Biden was initially scheduled for 30 August. However, on 19 August, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that the date of
The talks between the two leaders were then postponed again to 1 September. Zelenskyy will visit the Pentagon on 31 August, where he will meet US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin. Ukrainian Defence Minister Andriy Taran will also attend the meeting.