MOSCOW, September 2 (RIA Novosti) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he believes Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s upcoming visit to the United States would help explain Washington’s stance on the Ukrainian crisis, on Tuesday.
“It’s already been announced that on September 18, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko plans on visiting the United States and, most likely, this will be a good chance to ‘dot all the i’s [and cross all the t’s] in regard to America’s interest or non-interest in the political settlement in Ukraine,” Lavrov said during a live televised joint press conference with Tunisian Foreign Minister Mongi Hamdi.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is expected to meet with US President Barack Obama in the White House on September 18 to discuss the situation in southeastern Ukraine, according to an official statement on the White House website.
According to the statement, the visit will highlight the United States’ commitment to support Ukraine. US President Barack Obama is to discuss with Poroshenko “efforts to pursue a diplomatic resolution to the crisis in eastern Ukraine as well as our continued support for Ukraine’s struggle to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Over the past few months, the United States president has repeatedly expressed his willingness to help find a diplomatic solution to the conflict and to provide thorough support to Ukraine, however so far Washington has only provided Kiev with military equipment to continue fighting against independence supporters in southeastern Ukraine.
More than 2,500 were killed and 6,000 injured since Kiev launched its ongoing military operation in the southeastern regions of Ukraine.
