Ukrainian President Meets with Trump

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko emphasized his country's commitment to democracy and ongoing reforms during a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, requesting greater support from the United States. Kyiv described the meeting as very important, but the U.S. did not seem to give it much significance. This was Poroshenko's first meeting with Trump just days before the first meeting between the U.S. and Russian presidents at the G20 summit, which will take place next week in Hamburg, Germany. However, the simple nature of the U.S.-Ukraine presidential meeting indicates that the U.S. government currently does not want to provoke Russia. Poroshenko told Trump at the White House, "It is an honor and pleasure for me to meet you, dear Mr. President, one of Ukraine's most reliable and strategic partners." "We are truly fighting for freedom and democracy. With support in security and defense, we have no doubt that Ukraine, with its 45 million population, the largest European country, will succeed. I take pride in your support, Mr. President, and America's support for developments in Ukraine." In his brief remarks to reporters, Trump praised the discussions between the two sides, stating, "We had very, very good talks. These discussions will continue throughout the day, and I believe we made significant progress. It is an honor to meet you, Mr. President." The White House issued a brief statement after the meeting, stating that the two sides discussed "support for a peaceful resolution to the crisis in eastern Ukraine, President Poroshenko's reform agenda, and the fight against corruption in Ukraine." The day before the meeting with Trump, Poroshenko emphasized that he would meet with the U.S. president before meeting with Vladimir Putin, calling it "very important." However, the White House announced the meeting in a much simpler manner, stating, "The president will meet with his national security advisor and then meet with Vice President Mike Pence and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko." Meanwhile, the U.S. Treasury Department's announcement of new sanctions against dozens of rebel fighters in eastern Ukraine, their commanders, and their families, who are fighting against government forces in the Donbas region, pleased Poroshenko. One of the key individuals on this list is Dmitry Utkin, a Russian national believed to be the head of an unregistered private military company that recruits fighters for battles in eastern Ukraine. One of the institutions that has been sanctioned is a company linked to Yevgeny Prigozhin, a businessman based in St. Petersburg who provides catering services to the Kremlin. Prigozhin's name was also on last year's U.S. Treasury sanctions list. Before his visit to Washington, Poroshenko stated that he would also meet with officials from the U.S. Departments of Defense, State, Foreign Trade, and Energy. He praised the recent U.S. Senate resolution and the addition of sanctions against Russia, stating that this action is a civilized way to "force the aggressor to leave Ukraine" and to withdraw soldiers and weapons from eastern Ukraine. The U.S. Senate last week overwhelmingly voted to impose new sanctions against Russia due to its interference in the 2016 presidential election and also approved that Trump would need the Senate's agreement for any changes to these sanctions. The new sanctions bill still needs to be approved by the House of Representatives, but the date for that has not been announced. Poroshenko's visit to Washington comes amid escalating clashes between Ukrainian government forces and Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine, despite the Minsk peace agreement. The Minsk agreement, signed in 2015 with the mediation of Germany and France by Russia and Ukraine, stipulated that both sides must withdraw their heavy weapons from the front lines, establish a ceasefire, and grant greater autonomy to the eastern regions of Ukraine through constitutional reform. According to a report released by the United Nations on June 13, at least 10,090 people, including 2,777 civilians, have been killed in armed conflicts in eastern Ukraine since April 2014. In this context, the Russian President stated that the new U.S. sanctions could harm relations between the two countries, and Putin claimed there is no reason for the U.S. to impose new sanctions against Russia.