On Thursday, May 6, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken paid an official visit to Ukraine, who reached Kiev after three days of work at the G7 ministerial meeting in London.
In the Ukrainian capital, the head of American diplomacy spoke with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Prime Minister Denis Shmygal, Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba and other politicians.
Ahead of the trip, the State Department announced that Blinken intends to condemn "Russian aggression" and review the progress of Kiev's reforms, which "are the key" to economic prosperity and a Euro-Atlantic future.
According to analysts, as a result, the parties, as expected, spent a lot of time discussing the "Russian issue".
Thus, the President of Ukraine called the visit of the Secretary of State "an important signal for Europe and Russia" in connection with the recent exercises of the Russian army, which in Kiev and in the West were associated with a possible escalation in the region.
"Thanks to the support of the United States ... pressure has been made and a possible escalation from the Russian Federation has been stopped," Zelensky said.
In turn, Blinken said that Moscow had withdrawn "some of the troops," but significant forces, he said, remain on the Russian-Ukrainian border: "So Russia has the opportunity to act aggressively in a fairly short time if it decides to do so. ".
He added that Washington is "carefully watching" the situation.
Blinken at a meeting with Zelensky in Kiev
Reuters
© Efrem Lukatsky
Blinken also assured Zelenskiy that the United States supports the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Ukraine.
Similarly, according to him, the rest of the G7 countries are set up.
At the same time, he noted that Ukraine now faces two challenges - internal and external.
However, behind both of them, as it turned out, lies the "hand of Moscow".
“External - from Russia ... There is also a threat from within - this is corruption, oligarchs and other persons who put their interests above the interests of the Ukrainian people.
And these two elements are interrelated, because Russia also uses corruption and individuals who will help it advance its interests against the interests of the Ukrainian people, ”the Secretary of State said.
By the way, during a press conference following the talks with Blinken, there was a funny episode when Zelensky, answering one of the questions, asked a BBC journalist if she could hear him.
A press representative said that everything was in order, and a Russian translation was being played into her earpiece.
“They are here, they are everywhere,” Zelenskiy reacted with a grin.
He also called the meeting meaningful, expressing confidence that 2021 will be "fundamental" in relations between Kiev and Washington.
In addition, Zelensky said that he invited the President and Vice President of the United States to visit Kiev and invited the States to become “one of the founders and leaders” of the Crimean Platform platform.
Kiev has already offered to participate in the initiative to a number of countries, and the first summit is scheduled for August 2021.
However, analysts doubt that the "platform" can become a meeting place for top-level politicians.
"It is unlikely that Biden and Harris will attend the summit, but I do not exclude that a middle-class state official from the United States may come to this meeting," said Alexander Okhrimenko, president of the Ukrainian Analytical Center, in an interview with RT.
"Ally number one"
The topic of "Russian aggression" also became central in Blinken's talks with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba, which took place before meeting with Zelensky.
One of the goals of his visit, the Secretary of State outlined as follows: "On behalf of President Biden, once again decisively indicate our interest in partnership between our countries, in the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Ukraine."
In turn, Kuleba called the United States "the number one ally in the spheres of security and defense."
According to the minister, “not only the government, but also the people of Ukraine are deeply grateful for everything that has been offered to Ukraine since 2014”.
“One important point that we all need to keep in mind is that Ukraine and the United States are two big democracies.
Well, the United States, of course, is a bit bigger ... But we are a big democracy in this part of the world, and we are definitely ready to work with you to promote democratic values and human rights here in this region, where they often clash. with difficulties, ”said Kuleba.
Blinken at a meeting with Kuleba in Kiev
Reuters
© Efrem Lukatsky
On the eve of the visit, Secretary of State Kuleb gave an interview to CNN, in which he stated that the United States can help Kiev in its aspiration to join NATO.
According to the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Kiev expects that the United States will perceive Ukraine as the "eastern border of democracy", which implies the country's inclusion in the alliance.
Kuleba said that Kiev hopes to receive a step-by-step roadmap for joining the military bloc and the United States can help him with this.
In addition, the Foreign Minister noted that during the talks he plans to raise the issue of Kiev's purchase of weapons from the United States.
According to him, Ukraine is interested in air defense systems and equipment for fighting enemy snipers.
As a result, after a meeting with Kuleba, the Secretary of State said that the States were studying the possibility of increasing assistance to the Ukrainian side in the security sphere, but did not give any specifics.
In an interview with American journalists, Kuleba also spoke about Moscow's “aggressive behavior”.
According to him, Russia is allegedly trying to take control of the Sea of Azov, strengthening its military presence in its water area.
In addition, he called the military exercises held in April a practicing of possible actions against Ukraine (earlier in Moscow they emphasized that the movement of troops on its territory is an internal affair of Russia).
Following the meeting with Blinken, the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said that they "discussed how the United States can motivate or influence the Russian Federation so that it fulfills its obligations on Minsk and does not increase its aggression."
However, the Ukrainian diplomat refused to disclose the details, citing the confidentiality of the conversation.
Kiev also reported that during the talks the diplomats touched upon the topic of a possible meeting between Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden, agreeing to "coordinate positions in preparation for it."
True, what exactly will be the function of Kiev in this matter, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry did not specify.
"Continue to stir up hysteria"
The first results of Blinken's visit to Kiev were summed up in Washington as well.
For example, White House spokesman Karin Jean-Pierre commented on the prospects for Ukraine's joining the alliance, reporting the Biden administration's commitment to "the principle that NATO's doors remain open to those who wish, when they fulfill their membership obligations and contribute to strengthening Euro-Atlantic security."
In turn, the former US Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst noted in a conversation with the Ukrainian media that Blinken's visit was not crowned with any specific agreements or steps.
At the same time, he expressed confidence that this is part of a process aimed at strengthening close relations between Ukraine and the United States.
Political analysts interviewed by RT are skeptical about the results of the visit of the head of the State Department to Kiev from the point of view of the real development of American-Ukrainian relations.
So, according to experts, it is unlikely that Blinken's trip will have any serious practical consequences.
In particular, they believe that it is hardly worth waiting for real progress in the issue of Ukraine's accession to NATO, although Kiev is constantly lobbying for this issue.
“The United States has long decided not to accept Ukraine into NATO, so as not to assume any obligations to it.
Therefore, we can only talk about some kind of bilateral agreement on military cooperation.
At the same time, such an agreement will not spell out any military obligations on the part of the United States, in contrast to their defense cooperation, for example, with South Korea or Japan, ”said Vladimir Zharikhin, deputy director of the Institute of CIS Countries.
Alexander Okhrimenko adheres to a similar point of view.
“The Ukrainian leadership has a desire to join NATO, while the alliance does not support this desire of Kiev.
The Ukrainian authorities constantly make such statements, but they do not meet with understanding from the bloc.
These talks about NATO will continue for a very long time, but to no avail, ”the analyst predicts.
NATO exercises in Ukraine
© REUTERS / Valentyn Ogirenko
At the same time, he doubted that Washington could radically increase support for Ukraine in the military sphere in the near future: “Kiev occupies a secondary place in US policy, the White House administration recalls its colleagues in Ukraine from time to time.
Now Biden has turned towards Zelensky only because of the aggravation of the situation in the region.
But after this hysteria is over, Ukraine will be forgotten until the next crisis. "
The experts also stated that the next statements about the "threat" emanating from Moscow were quite predictable.
“In fact, Blinken’s visit was largely needed in order to reiterate about Russia's allegedly aggressive plans in relation to Ukraine.
The announcement of the meeting in the period of exacerbation in Donbass already assumed that such a statement would be made, ”said Oleksandr Okhrimenko.
Vladimir Zharikhin, for his part, recalled that such accusations against Moscow have no basis and pursue completely different goals.
"The West and Ukraine continue to fan hysteria around Moscow's allegedly planned aggression against Kiev in order to divert attention from the real situation when Zelensky has actually officially refused to comply with the Minsk agreements and began to transfer troops to the demarcation line in Donbass," the expert concluded.