Talks between Washington, Kyiv on lethal arms reach practical level - Ukrainian deputy PM
KYIV. Sept 14 (Interfax) - Negotiations between the United States and Ukraine on providing Kyiv with lethal defensive weapons have become more substantive, the Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, said.
"I wouldn't make specific forecasts regarding the month or the week when we would expect such a decision to be made, but I understand that our negotiations have reached the practical level," Klympush-Tsintsadze said in an interview with the Voice of America published on Thursday.
This decision would be simultaneously political for the U.S. and an important practical step for Ukraine in that it would enable Ukrainian servicemen to defend themselves more efficiently, she said.
The U.S. has already supplied Ukraine with some military equipment that has reduced the number of casualties, she said.
"I think the argument on protecting servicemen's lives is the most effective one," Klympush-Tsintsadze said.