New Delhi: Amid growing escalations between Russia and Ukraine, US President Joe Biden on Saturday met Ukraine`s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov during his visit to Poland and sought "an update on Ukraine`s military, diplomatic and humanitarian situation," said the White House in a statement.
As per the White House, Biden on Saturday dropped in a meeting between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and their Ukrainian counterparts, Kuleba and Reznikov.
The discussion between US and Ukraine included "further efforts to help Ukraine defend its territory.”
In a tweet, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister said the meeting between Ukrainian Ministers and US Secretaries allowed him to seek "practical decisions in both political and defence spheres in order to fortify Ukraine`s ability to fight back," while Ukrainian Defence Minister tweeted that he acquired "cautious optimism."
The US President’s meeting with top Ukrainian officials came as he visited Poland, after attending the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) summit, G7 gathering and the summit of the European Council -- three intensive summits in two days with the Ukraine crisis as a major focus.
The meets are believed to be Biden’s way to display unity with European partners but failed to talk them into concerted actions against Russia.
The NATO summit concluded on Thursday with no agreement to impose additional sanctions against Moscow, especially the country`s oil and gas products. Nor did the European Council summit succeed in reaching a consensus on the same issue.
Meanwhile, US President found himself in an uncomfortable rather controversial position after he, in a fiery speech against the Russia-Ukraine war said, ‘this man (Putin) cannot remain in power.”
The President’s statement sparked a controversy about the US interference in the internal government of Russia.
In response, Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that this is not to be decided by Biden adding that it should only be a choice of the people of the Russian Federation.
