Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba held talks with a delegation from the U.S. Congress, headed by Senator Lindsey Graham, who arrived in Ukraine on a working visit.
According to the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, the minister summed up the results of the trip of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the United States and said the transition to a new level of partnership is one of the key tasks of the strategy of Ukraine’s foreign policy.
“The agreements reached during the visit brought the strategic partnership between Ukraine and the United States to a qualitatively new level, primarily in the security, defense, energy, investment sectors, and support for reforms,” Kuleba said.
Senator Graham, in turn, said that support for Ukraine in countering Russian aggression and carrying out internal transformations remains one of the issues that unites Democrats and Republicans.
The senator said that Ukraine is an important U.S. ally in the democratic world. The United States defends democracy by supporting Ukraine.
He also assured of the readiness of the U.S. Congress to continue to support Ukraine in restoring its territorial integrity, strengthening its defense capability, and embodying internal transformations.
The sides separately discussed the threats of Nord Stream 2 and the steps that need to be taken to prevent Russia from using energy as a geopolitical weapon.
Kuleba also drew special attention to security challenges in the Azov-Black Sea region, spoke about the militarization of the temporarily occupied Crimea by Russia, obstruction of freedom of navigation in the Black and Azov Seas.
“President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky paid priority attention to security in the region during negotiations with the American side during his visit to the United States. Russia poses a threat not only to our state but also to the security of the entire Euro-Atlantic community. Russia’s aggressive actions in the Black and Azov Seas require a decisive response from the international community,” the minister said.
In addition, he told the U.S. Congress delegation about gross violations of human rights in the temporarily occupied Crimea and another wave of illegal searches and detentions on the peninsula and called on the U.S. congressmen to help increase pressure on the Kremlin in order to end repression and the immediate and unconditional release of all illegally detained persons.
It is noted that the delegation headed by Lindsay Graham (Republican from South Carolina) was attended by Senators John Barrasso (Republican from Wyoming), Ben Sasse (Republican from Nebraska), Tommy Tuberville (Republican from Alabama), and Congressman William Timmons (Republican from South Carolina).
