It seems that both the first meeting of the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Petro Poroshenko and the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington and the inaugural session of the USA-Ukraine Strategic Partnership Commission have met the expectations of the parties.
Clinton assured the Ukrainian side that the US will pursue the development of a broad partnership with Kiev, and confirmed that the security assurances, which the United States and Russia gave Ukraine after its abandonment of nuclear weapons, will be respected and taken into account in future agreements on the reduction of offensive arms. Poroshenko assured the American party that the presidential elections next month will be fair, transparent, and in accordance with international standards.
A significant part of the dialogue between the parties was devoted to energy security. Poroshenko noted that the issue of energy security can only be solved on a global scale, rather than on a bilateral level. “I think that we have a common understanding of the current situation, and we will continue our effective cooperation with the United States in this area,” the Ukrainian minister emphasized.
For her part, Clinton noted that the U.S. attaches specific importance to Ukraine’s improving its own energy security and becoming more energy independent. “Ukraine has vast opportunities for achieving significant energy efficiency in the future, notably through investment in the natural gas sector. However, much will depend on the economic and political reforms which Ukraine undertakes,” Clinton said. She assured Poroshenko that the U.S. supports Ukraine’s integration into the European energy security framework and will provide assistance for the development of the Ukrainian energy sector.
At the moment, the question of resuming collaboration with the International Monetary Fund is equally important for Ukraine. Poroshenko informed the U.S. Secretary of State about the measures undertaken by the Ukrainian side to fulfill its obligations within the framework of the cooperation program. According to him, during the talks the issue of the return of the IMF mission to Ukraine this year was discussed, with the aim of demonstrating the openness and effectiveness of cooperation between the international financial organization and Ukraine. However, it is unclear how Washington, a major source of funding for the IMF, reacted to the request.
Naturally the question of presidential elections in Ukraine was unavoidable during the talks. At the press conference, Clinton addressed the subject: “We have reiterated our hope that the election process goes smoothly, that the elections are free and fair and produce an outcome that will be respected, both within Ukraine and around the world.“
In his turn, Poroshenko declared: “From my point of view, the very fact that nobody knows who will be the next president of Ukraine is clearly indicative of democracy. As the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, I will invite over 1,000 observers to ensure the fairness of the elections.”
