US President Barack Obama endorsed Ukrainian president-elect Petro Poroshenko yesterday, offering Kiev financial and security help and saying he was the right choice to lead the country locked in a stand-off with Moscow.
At their first meeting since the billionaire confectionary magnate was elected last month against a backdrop of armed clashes in Ukraine’s east, Obama said he was impressed by Poroshenko’s vision for pulling his nation out of crisis.
“What Ukrainians said in the elections is that they reject that path. They reject violence,” and want the opportunity to determine their own future, Obama told reporters after meeting Poroshenko in the Polish capital.
“That’s the hope that President Poroshenko represents,” Obama said. “In my discussions with him today, it’s clear he understands the hopes and aspirations of the Ukrainian people.”
He said they discussed Poroshenko’s plans for restoring peace and order in Ukraine and reducing its dependence on Russia for energy.
“I have been deeply impressed by his vision,” Obama said.
Speaking after their talks, Poroshenko said he was ready to present a plan for “the peaceful resolution of the situation in the east” very soon after his inauguration, set for Saturday. He gave no details, but he has backed a military crackdown on the rebels.
Known to some Ukrainians as the “chocolate king,” Poroshenko won a May 25 presidential election called after former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych fled to Russia in February after an uprising against his rule.
Poroshenko takes over a country that is deeply troubled. Armed pro-Russian separatists are battling security forces in the east of the country, Russia is threatening to switch off Ukraine’s gas supplies for non-payment of debts and Kiev must conduct painful economic reforms as a condition for Western aid.
Heavy fighting raged in eastern Ukraine yesterday for a third consecutive day, with casualties on both sides. The Ukrainian army pressed an offensive against the separatist stronghold of Slaviansk.
The White House said in a statement that Obama had approved an additional US$23 million in defense security assistance to Ukraine since early March, including US$5 million for “the provision of body armor, night-vision goggles and additional communications equipment.”
Obama later delivered a keynote speech in Warsaw’s Castle Square as part of celebrations to mark 25 years since it held its first partially free election, shaking off decades of Soviet domination and communist rule.
The US leader drew parallels between Poland’s achievements since then, including its strong economic growth and democratic system, and the prospects for Ukraine under its new leaders.
He also assured east European NATO allies that were once part of the Soviet Union or its Warsaw Pact military bloc that the US would defend their territorial integrity.
“Poland will never stand alone. Estonia will never stand alone. Latvia will never stand alone. Lithuania will never stand alone. Romania will never stand alone,” Obama said.
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