Ukrainian-U.S. relations to depend not on new State Department chief but on entire Trump administration - Ukrainian foreign minister
KYIV. Dec 13 (Interfax) - The relationship between Kyiv and Washington will depend not so much on a new U.S. secretary of state as on the entire administration being formed by President-elect Donald Trump, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said.
"I see that the key figures both in the Republican Party and in the transition team understand how important a democratic Ukraine is for U.S. interests and have voiced their willingness to help Ukraine. We will see very soon what the team looks like and what the personal preferences are, because this also determines personal commitments. The matter is not even so much about the State Department chief as about the entire team, which will deal with foreign policy, national security, and the global economy," Klimkin said in an interview with Interfax on Tuesday.
The Ukrainian foreign minister said he did not share the opinion that Russia would find it easier to work with a new U.S. administration.
"The formation of a future team is taking too much time in the U.S. now, but as soon as it is formed - and we all hope that this will happen in the coming weeks - briefings will begin on the current situation, and we, on our part, will do all we can so that the future [U.S.] president and his team get a high-quality and detailed briefing not only about what's going on but also in terms of understanding this in the context of Russia's intentions and tactics," Klimkin said.
The organization of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's bilateral meeting with Trump during the Ukrainian leader's visit to New York in February is under consideration now, Klimkin said. "One of the ideas is to arrange a relevant bilateral set during the [Ukrainian] president's visit to New York. If this happens, this would definitely be very good from the standpoint of personal contact and personal understanding," he said.