Interfax-Ukraine
May 30, 2014
Pentagon delegation to hold talks in Kyiv
The United States is ready to provide Ukraine with economic support in the future, including in defense sectors, U.S. Ambassador to Kyiv Geoffrey Pyatt said.
In the past three months the U.S. tripled the budget of U.S. military assistance to Ukraine and a special emphasis was made on increasing the combat efficiency of Ukrainian border guards and their capacity to defend Ukraine’s borders, Pyatt said in an interview with Dzerkalo Tyzhnia (Mirror Weekly) newspaper when commenting on the statement of Petro Poroshenko, who won the presidential elections, on the necessity of the U.S. military assistance.
A Pentagon delegation should arrive to Ukraine next week to meet with government representatives in order to discuss how to use better the U.S. support in Ukraine’s defense sector in the coming months and years, the ambassador said.
The most important aspect of the U.S. assistance to Ukraine is economic support and the best way for Ukraine to defend itself is to become economically developed and sovereign European democracy, Pyatt said. At the same time, the U.S. provided and continue to provide help in modernizing Ukraine’s defense and security, he said.
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