WARSAW: Joe Biden on Saturday in Warsaw met two Ukrainian ministers in the first face-to-face talks between the US president and top Kyiv officials since Russia’s invasion began.
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov made a rare trip out of Ukraine in a possible sign of growing confidence in the fightback against Russian forces.
The meeting took place at the Marriott Hotel in the city centre — opposite a Warsaw train station where there has been a constant flow of Ukrainian refugees since the conflict started.
Biden meets top Ukrainian ministers in Warsaw
Biden could be seen seated at a long white table between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, facing Kuleba and Reznikov, an AFP reporter saw.
There were Ukrainian and US flags in the background.
The officials discussed “the United States’ unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters.
Blinken and Austin “pledged continued support to meet Ukraine’s humanitarian, security, and economic needs,” he added.
Biden last met Kuleba in Washington on February 22 — two days before Russia launched its assault. Since then, Kuleba also met Blinken in Poland next to the border with Ukraine on March 5. Biden is on the second and final day of a visit to Poland after he met with EU and NATO leaders in Brussels earlier in the week.
Biden also told Polish President Andrzej Duda that NATO’s collective defence was a “sacred commitment” for the US, adding: “You can count on that... For your freedom and ours”.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.