WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has pledged his country’s continued support for Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression and said that U.S. sanctions will continue until Moscow returns all Ukrainian territory to Kyiv’s control.
Pompeo made the remarks on Nov. 16 after two days of meetings in Washington, D.C. with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin during the 10th annual session of the U.S.-Ukraine Strategic Partnership Commission.
The two officials met “to breathe new life” into the partnership, Pompeo said. He also hailed progress made on the three pillars of the relationship: security and countering Russian aggression, rule of law and humanitarian issues, and economic and energy security.
Pompeo said Ukraine had reached at a critical point in its history. “During the 2014 Revolution of Dignity, the Ukrainian people sacrificed their lives to protect their independence and self-determination…” he said of the popular uprising, also known as the EuroMaidan Revolution, that toppled Kremlin-backed President Viktor Yanukovych. “Ukrainians continue to fight this battle as they work to build a modern, democratic, Western state.”
“That same spirit of courage and determination drives Ukrainians to continue to fight to uphold their national sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russian aggression,” he added. “Ukraine has no greater friend than the United States in this regard.”
According to Pompeo, Washington will maintain pressure on Moscow to withdraw from all of the Ukrainian territory it occupies.
“The United States will never accept Russia’s attempted annexation of Crimea,” he said. “We will continue to impose consequences against Russia until Moscow fully implements the Minsk agreements and returns control of Crimea to Ukraine.”
At the same time, Pompeo reiterated the importance that Washington places on Kyiv continuing “crucial reform goals” such as rule of law, anti-corruption, and judicial independence. He also said advancing these goals “will ensure the ideals of the Revolution of Dignity are permanently woven into the fabric of a democratic Ukraine.”
The U.S. and Ukraine will work together to stop the Russian-German Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline, which undermines the security of both Ukraine and European nations dependent on Russian gas, Pompeo said.
“We do not want our European friends to fall prey to the kind of political and economic manipulation Russia has attempted in Ukraine since it cast off its Soviet shackles,” he said.
Klimkin said that his country’s partnership with America is based upon shared common values.
“Our countries stand shoulder to shoulder in countering Russia’s aggression,” he said. This aggression takes the form of a hot war in Ukraine and attempts to undermine democratic institutions in the U.S. and in Europe, he added.
Klimkin thanked Pompeo for Washington’s firm stance on the return of Crimea to Ukraine. He said that sanctions and other pressure must continue until Moscow changes its aggressive course.
“So far we don’t see any change,” he added. “On the contrary, we see Russia’s subversive activities in the Sea of Azov. We see shelling of our land and lives being lost every day. We see Ukrainian citizens held as political prisoners in Russian jails.”
Klimkin promised Ukraine would strengthen the rule of law and said eradicating corruption was the Kyiv government’s “most fundamental challenge aside from countering Russia’s aggression”.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Klimkin endorsed Pompeo’s words about America being Ukraine’s greatest friend and said Kyiv doesn’t regard the commission as something superficial. Rather, the Ukrainian government sees it as an all-embracing, consistent structure building a “unique” friendly partnership between the two countries.
To that end, the Ukrainian delegation included some 20 individuals, while about 40 Americans took part, he said.
During the two days of meetings, the commission devoted much attention to the situation in the Azov Sea, the Russian-occupied Donbas, and the recent unrecognized election choreographed by Moscow, Klimkin said. Other subjects included Ukrainians held by Moscow as political prisoners and hostages, NATO and European Union membership, and ways to counter Russian “hybrid warfare, including cyber aggression and disinformation.”
Klimkin said he told Pompeo that Russia wants to “raise the stakes” in an “attempt to occupy the Azov Sea and to create a new point of tension.” The goal is to “shake Ukraine” using both military and non-military means before and after the March 2019 presidential elections.
He stressed that “Russia has no red lines” and Ukraine must be proactive in its approach to Moscow.
“Just reacting is a losing tactic,” Klimkin said.
While the strategic partnership talks were Klimkin’s main task in the U.S., he also met separately with members of the American Congress, including influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Bob Corker.
Klimkin also took part in events organized by the Ukrainian community in America to commemorate the 85th anniversary of the Holodomor famine.
After departing Washington, he headed to the Halifax International Security Forum in Canada’s Nova Scotia province, where he was scheduled to speak on the afternoon of Nov. 17.
