Ukrainian politician: There is a great hope that we will receive lethal weapons from the USA
Hanna Hopko, the head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Verkhovna Rada, believes that the likelihood that the US will provide Ukraine with lethal arms is great, as stated in an interview with LB.ua.
When asked whether there was hope that we will receive lethal arms following Poroshenko’s visit to the US, Hanna Hopko replied, “Yes, the results of the visit were positive, he did a good job.”
In addition, Hopko said that during the meeting between President Petro Poroshenko with the US Secretary of Energy, Rick Perry, they discussed the participation of US companies in the extraction of gas from Ukrainian gas fields.
“Yes, there was a meeting with the US Secretary of Energy. It was about US companies participating in the extraction of gas from Ukrainian gas fields to meet the needs of the population, including the Black Sea shelf,” she said.
“We have submitted the Bilateral Security Agreement, which the US already has with Japan, Israel, Egypt, South Korea, and other nations. Now that we have seen that the US has introduced anti-Russian sanctions concerning the North Stream-2, we will see whether there is further development. The provision of lethal arms to Ukraine can be one of more the powerful arguments to get concrete steps from Russia, in particular, in ensuring the ceasefire,” she noted.
In addition, Hopko stressed that it is important for President Trump to show that he is more determined than his predecessor.
“The Obama administration reacted very weakly to the annexation of the Crimea and the conflict in the Donbas. The current administration wants to demonstrate that they are "with us" not only in word but truly in deed. We have done a lot in the security and defense sector for three years. Although, at the same time, many reforms [in Ukraine] are practically at a halt. Everything depends on our readiness to show that corruption is a thing of the past in the security and defense sector,” the People's Deputy said.