Poroshenko: In July, U.S. Secretary of State will visit Ukraine, as well as Secretary Generals of NATO and UN
President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko announced that in July, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will visit Ukraine, as well as NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and UN Secretary General António Guterres.
“We are awaiting a visit from U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to Kyiv in July, and our work in Washington will continue. We are also awaiting a visit from UN Secretary General Guterres and a visit from the NATO Secretary General, which will also be in July,” he said in an interview with Ukrainian TV channels on Sunday.
In addition, according to him, it was agreed that U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry would visit Ukraine in August, and in the coming months, U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis is expected to visit.
Poroshenko also mentioned that he was very pleased with his visit to the U.S., during which, according to him, important agreements were reached. “The process of providing weapons for defense is still ongoing,” he said. “Moreover, during the meeting with the Minister of Defense, which was confirmed after the meeting in the White House, it was mentioned that the issue of defense weapons will be decided within the current fiscal year, and you know that this will be before October.”
The Ukrainian leader is also very pleased with the agreements reached in the energy sector. Poroshenko said that Kyiv will increase the share of supplies of American nuclear fuel. “Security with regards to energy lies in nuclear energy. As I noted two weeks ago, we are increasing significantly the role that Westinghouse plays in supplying nuclear fuel to Ukraine. I hope that this will be up to 55%,” he said.
In general, according to the president, he secured serious support from the U.S. and, in particular, President Trump. “My biggest impression of my visit to the U.S. and meeting with President Trump is that he didn’t simply give advice, but he asked clearly, ‘Peter, can we help you?’ This is the position of a real partner, a real friend of Ukraine,” Poroshenko said.
Poroshenko's visit to the U.S. took place on June 20th. He met with President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence in Washington. On that same day, he spoke with Defense Minister James Mattis, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde, and World Bank President Jim Yong Kim. After his visit to the U.S., the Ukrainian leader went to Brussels. There, on June 22nd, he met and spoke with the president of the Council of Europe as well as the leaders of Germany, Spain, and Croatia.