Selenskyj in Washington: The devil is in the details

Ukrainian President Zelenskyi will meet his counterpart Biden for the first time today. Several agreements are planned – including the conflict in eastern Ukraine and Nord Stream 2. But the devil is in the details.

The appointment was postponed twice – one day back each time. Most recently because of the US troop withdrawal in Afghanistan. The Ukrainian side was understanding and stressed that they are looking forward to the meeting with the US President. Upon his arrival in Washington, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the upcoming talks with his counterpart Joe Biden as “rich in content”.

“A total of three defense agreements are planned. So, planned. We will talk about that,” Zelenskyi said in advance. Economic agreements are also important. “There will be a big discussion about Nord Stream 2 and possible agreements in the energy sector. Let’s see. The devil is in the details.”

Agreement on Nord Stream 2

At least with regard to the soon-to-be-completed Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline, which is to pump Russian gas directly into the EU without going through Ukraine, there is agreement, said the Ukrainian ambassador to the USA, Oksana Markarova: “Both us and them The United States clearly sees Nord Stream 2 as a geopolitical project of the Russian Federation. And we see the risks it poses not only for Ukraine, but for the entire region. “

The agreement between Germany and the US, with which Washington ultimately gave the green light for the completion of Nord Stream 2, was sharply criticized in Ukraine. The leadership in Kiev repeatedly emphasized that everything would now be done to prevent the pipeline from going into operation. In Washington, Zelenskyj wants to campaign for further US sanctions against the European operators in order to stop the project in this way, “so that Nord Stream 2 does not become what it can become: a weapon against Ukraine and the region”, said Ambassador Markarova.

Warning of expectations that are too high

But whether and to what extent President Biden will respond to these demands is one of the detailed questions still to be discussed. In any case, the Ukrainian political scientist Volodimir Fessenko warns against excessive expectations with a view to this first personal meeting of the two presidents – also on the subject of security.

“A defense agreement is being prepared. This is a framework agreement. It is not about Ukraine getting allied status outside NATO,” says Fessenko. “But it puts defense and security cooperation on a permanent basis, and that is very important for Ukraine.”

Military aid in the multi-digit million range

Since 2014, since the beginning of the conflict in Eastern Ukraine, the US has been sending military aid in the tens of millions. While the European Union has recently greatly reduced such aid payments, the USA is continuously expanding its security partnership with Ukraine. Political scientist Fessenko is therefore convinced that today’s meeting will bring some results – but a lot also depends on whether the former actor Zelenskyj and the political veteran Joe Biden can find a common language.

“They are of course people from different generations and it could be difficult for them at the beginning,” said Fessenko. “But Biden knows Ukraine very well. He was in Ukraine several times before Zelenskyj got into politics.”

Ambassador Markarova breaks US-American-Ukrainian relations – regardless of the self-confident demeanor of President Zelenskyi – down to a very simple formula: “We are grateful for the cooperation and are working on expanding it.”