FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL

Posted On

02
September
2021

Former Ambassador Herbst calls Zelensky's visit to US a success: Parties agreed on most important issues

KYIV. Sept 2 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the United States is successful, both sides have come to an agreement on the most important issues, the US Ambassador to Ukraine (2003-2006) John Herbst said.

Herbst said in an online discussion at Kyiv Security Forum on Thursday that he believes that President Zelensky’s visit was a success. He was supposed to spend an hour with President Biden, and yesterday their meeting lasted two hours, he said. According to him, the discussion was frank and comprehensive: both sides agreed on such most important issues as issues of strong American support for Ukrainian security as it faces ongoing, persistent aggression.

He noted that both leaders managed to prevent serious differences over Nord Stream 2 from getting in the way of successful negotiations.

At the same time, Herbst indicated that he hopes to see a new US ambassador to Ukraine sometime later this year.

Herbst also dwelled on one particular complication here. He said that he agrees with Ukraine, like most people in Congress, that Biden’s decision on Nord Stream 2 was a strategic disaster for the United States as well as for Europe. In response to this decision, Senator Cruz is delaying foreign policy appointments, he said. He thinks that this will also be an obstacle to the quick appointment of the US ambassador to Ukraine, although he hopes for it.