Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on the air of the Ukraine 24 TV channel that US President Joe Biden and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy "will easily find a common language."

“Pay attention, both of them became presidents at the moments in the history of their countries, when the number one task of internal development is to reconcile different parts of society and build bridges.

They really have this in common.

I think this chemistry, as the Americans like to say, will definitely work and everything will be fine, ”said Kuleba.

This is not the first time that the Ukrainian Foreign Minister has expressed confidence in an extremely positive format for the development of relations with the United States with the advent of the Biden administration.

So, at the end of December last year, Kuleba said in an interview with the TSN.ua website that he expects "rock and roll" in cooperation with the new head of the White House and his team.

“We're looking forward to rock and roll.

We want a very dynamic and driving relationship with the United States.

America and Ukraine are strategic partners.

This is both official and factual.

Therefore, we need to add even more sound to this song of strategic partnership, ”said Kuleba.

"Toxic Topics"

Experts interviewed by RT believe that Kiev has hopes for a significant improvement in relations with the United States.

Biden is viewed by the Ukrainian leadership as a figure well aware of the situation in the country and capable of helping to cope with problems in the economy and the military sector. 

As Vice President under Barack Obama, Biden visited Kiev on several occasions and was perceived by political scientists as the key curator of the Ukrainian direction in Washington's diplomacy.

It was during the period of his work, in 2014, that a coup d'etat took place in Ukraine, during which Viktor Yanukovych was collapsed, and the pro-Western opposition came to power.

  • Joe Biden during a visit to Kiev

  • AFP

  • © Sergey SUPINSKI / POOL

As the president of the Center for Systems Analysis and Forecasting Rostislav Ishchenko noted in an interview with RT, the publications of the so-called "Derkach tapes" reveal the role of Biden in Ukraine very eloquently.

These recordings allegedly recorded fragments of telephone conversations between the US Vice President and Petro Poroshenko, who was then head of Ukraine.

The tapes contain discussions on a number of internal issues of the republic, and a person with a voice similar to that of Poroshenko reported on the steps taken.

However, the great involvement in the affairs of Ukraine almost turned into extremely negative political consequences for Biden.

After the coup, his son Hunter Biden joined the board of directors of the Ukrainian gas company Burisma.

The work of Biden Jr. aroused interest in the Ukrainian prosecutor's office.

In particular, law enforcement officers suspected the son of the US Vice President of accepting bribes from Burisma.

However, this case did not get a move, and in March 2016, Prosecutor General of Ukraine Viktor Shokin was removed from office.

Biden did not hide that he personally intervened in the situation, having achieved the dismissal of Shokin.

According to him, Kiev complied with the requirements under the threat of the cancellation of loan guarantees in the amount of $ 1 billion.

Later, the scandal around Hunter Biden tried to be used for their own purposes by Donald Trump.

During a telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the summer of 2019, the Republican asked the interlocutor to "sort out the situation" around the activities of Joe Biden himself and his son in Ukraine.

In response, the Ukrainian leader promised that the country's new prosecutor general, who was soon appointed Ruslan Ryaboshapka, would be involved in the investigation.

Nevertheless, the proceedings against the Biden never began.

In January 2020, Zelensky said that he intends to prevent the involvement of Ukraine and its citizens in the "political situation in the United States."

According to HSE professor Oleg Matveychev, before Biden's victory in the elections, Kiev tried not to provoke Trump and at the same time maintain good relations with the Democrats.

However, the scandal over the telephone conversations undermined the efforts of Ukrainian diplomacy.  

  • Vladimir Zelensky and US President Donald Trump

  • AFP

  • © SAUL LOEB

According to the political scientist, Kiev should not hope for a "return of attention" to Ukrainian affairs from the new administration.

The expert predicts that Biden will try to distance himself from resolving issues related to Kiev.

“The involvement of Ukraine in the situation with Hunter did not pass without a trace.

Zelensky and Biden cannot have any "common language" and "chemistry" there.

All cases concerning Ukraine became toxic topics for Biden.

Any attempt to provide any additional assistance to Kiev will be interpreted by the Republicans as a continuation of Biden's corrupt activities, "Matveychev said in an interview with RT.

Meanwhile, the office of the President of Ukraine is counting on a quick meeting with the new head of the White House to discuss the future of bilateral relations.

On January 20, on the day of Biden's inauguration, Zelensky invited him to visit "Kiev, well known to him."

In addition, the Ukrainian authorities expect a telephone conversation between the two leaders in the near future.

"Will keep the status of a peripheral country"

Experts believe that Kiev's high hopes for the Biden administration are related to the issues of easing the financial burden and softening the requirements of international lenders who insist on market reforms in Ukraine and an increase in energy consumption tariffs.

At the same time, as Zelensky has repeatedly noted, the country's economy will not be able to exist without financial tranches from abroad.

In the near future, Kiev plans to receive another loan from the IMF in the amount of $ 2.9 billion.

According to Rostislav Ishchenko, international organizations are lending to Ukraine on terms that do not allow it to get out of the debt hole, even in the long term.

“The main shareholders of the IMF are in the United States, and they realize their interests at the expense of those who are actively lending.

Hence the requirements for the privatization of enterprises, free sale of land, liberalization of tariffs.

The fund deliberately created conditions for Ukraine to open its market without a chance to pay off its debts.

This state of affairs suited Trump, and it suits Biden as well, ”Ishchenko said.

Also, the expert does not expect a change in Washington's policy on the provision of military assistance to Ukraine and integration into NATO.

According to Ishchenko's forecast, the Biden administration will not seek Kiev's entry into the alliance and will keep the volume of arms supplies at the same level.

“US military aid is actually a form of financing for American arms companies, since Ukraine does not receive money, but military equipment of overseas production.

This practice appeared under Obama, did not change under Trump and is unlikely to be somehow corrected now, ”says Ishchenko.

In addition, the political scientist is confident that Kiev, as before, will be deprived of Washington's support in the implementation of a military scenario for resolving the conflict in Donbass.

In his opinion, for the Biden administration, Ukraine will “retain the status of a peripheral country,” especially against the backdrop of serious internal upheavals in the United States itself.

Oleg Matveichev adheres to a similar point of view.

The expert believes that the priorities of the Biden administration will be issues of economic development, settlement of the debt burden and overcoming social division.

“In the current situation, the United States itself is increasing its debts due to the lack of money for its own needs.

Therefore, it is very naive on the part of Ukraine to hope for the onset of golden times with the arrival of Biden in the White House.

In addition, the United States has never provided Kiev with truly significant financial and political support, ”concluded Matveychev.