Image by Kathrin Mobius
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has left the country enroute to Washington, D.C. for a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.
“The president of Ukraine has left for a working visit to the United States,” Poroshenko’s press secretary press secretary Svyatoslav Tsegolko wrote on his Facebook on June 19, reported the Kyiv Post.
In Ukraine, members of parliament told journalists that Poroshenko hoped to discuss Crimea, Washington’s role in reforms within Ukraine with Trump and the largely ineffective Minsk Protocol that both Russia and Ukraine had signed for an immediate ceasefire back in 2014, reported Business Insider.
Ukraine has consistently asked the United States for armaments for use in its smoldering conflict in the Donbass region of East Ukraine with pro-Russian separatists who are backed by the Russian Federation. So far, the U.S. has resisted calls to provide arms to the Ukrainian armed forces.
Ukraine also wants to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. President Trump, looking to reduce American entanglements in the world, most likely would rebuff such requests. It will be interesting to see the results of this meeting announced to the press this week.
