• US Biden and Putin meet in Geneva in a summit marked by hostility

The President of Ukraine,

Volodimir Zelensky

, today visits a White House that for a time eluded him. His visit has been in preparation for two years and has been delayed one day by events in Afghanistan.



On the table, the Ukrainian leader has placed two sensitive issues: NATO membership and the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline between Russia and Europe, an infrastructure that Ukraine opposes. The supply of lethal weapons will also serve to gauge Biden's commitment to the Ukrainian government.



The chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan causes some nervousness in every country in the world with which the United States has a security commitment.

Washington's financial aid to Ukraine's armed forces is far less than that provided to Afghanistan, and

there have never been American soldiers fighting alongside the Ukrainians

.

Kiev has also never been clear about how long the US commitment lasts.

But unlike the Afghan National Army, the Ukrainians have defended their sovereignty on their own, with questionable success.

The separatists have failed to advance, but government troops and the battalions that complement them have not been able to wipe them off the map.

The war continues

and Zelensky will finish his first term without having finished.



Fear of the future


For Ukrainians,

the future offers more shadows than lights

on the geopolitical plane. Russia and Belarus are expected to sign a closer integration treaty this month that could place Russian troops on Ukraine's northwestern borders. If that happens, Ukraine will be almost surrounded by Russian-controlled borders, from Belarus in the north to Russia itself, and south to Crimea and the breakaway Transnistria region in Moldova, where Moscow also has troops. Kiev enjoys international support, but Moscow can resurrect the conflict as soon as the Ukrainian regime loses support or interest. Afghanistan is yet another proof that America's commitment does not last forever.



In the short term, Kiev believes that today's meeting sends an important message about the relationship between the two.

Few nations depend as much on US backing as Ukraine

, mired in a seven-year war with Russian-backed separatists. So far, the United States has pledged $ 2.5 billion in support of Ukraine's forces since 2014, including more than $ 400 million this year alone. But Biden is now predefining the red lines with Vladimir Putin, and Kiev wants to see where each of his interests falls in this realignment of priorities.



Ukraine is expected to strengthen its rule of law, including reform of the judicial sector. It is urgent to reduce the enormous political and economic influence of the oligarchs and fight corruption



As vice president, Biden was the Obama administration's key person in Ukraine. Kiev, for its part, always tries to value the contribution of its country to European security when it comes to containing Russia. So it is interesting to see how important the European flank is to Biden. The softening of its stance on the supply of Russian gas to Europe confirms that the new priority is China. The US no longer wants to be everywhere, Kiev does not want to fall off the list of concerns.



"The United States and Ukraine will announce the revitalization of the Strategic Partnership Commission. We are very interested in revitalizing not only the relationship, but also specifically this Partnership Committee as a means to do so," explains a member of the Biden Administration. The Department of Defense will sign a

strategic defense agreement

that will enhance cooperation on several pressing issues, including

Black Sea security

, cyber and intelligence services.



The relationship between the two governments now has more solid foundations than with Donald Trump, who pressured Zelensky to investigate Biden and his son Hunter.

That call was at the epicenter of Trump's first impeachment trial by the House before the Senate acquitted the then-president and found him innocent of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

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