“We are firmly on your side”, recalled again the American Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, during his visit to kyiv, Wednesday 5 and Thursday 6 May. Crucial support for the former Soviet republic, after weeks of high tension following the deployment of tens of thousands of Russian troops at its borders, in April.
The visit by Mr Blinken, the first senior US official to visit Ukraine since Joe Biden’s inauguration in January, comes as the US president has increased pressure on Russia, with new sanctions and the expulsion of diplomats. Mr. Biden is also seeking to organize a summit with Vladimir Putin as early as June.
This year, Washington plans to provide kyiv with security and military aid worth more than 400 million dollars (330 million euros). Ukraine also hopes for the continuation of American arms deliveries. The head of American diplomacy, however, made it clear that Washington’s support for kyiv would not be at any price.
The constant support since 2014 of the United States to Ukraine has a dimension as much political as operational. He is perceived in Moscow as an illustration of the Western desire to tear Ukraine from its zone of influence.. “The United States remains committed to assisting Ukraine in advancing its Euro-Atlantic aspirations in support of a secure, prosperous, democratic, and free Ukraine.”writes the Office of Political and Military Affairs, on the State Department website, on January 20.
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