In light of the upcoming and several times postponed meeting of Ukraine’s President Vladimir Zelensky and US President Joe Biden, that is now scheduled for September 1, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov pointed that the US is in position to use its to persuade Kyiv to implement the Minsk accords, Russian media write.
Saying that although Russia isn’t in a position nor it wants to interfere in the affairs of the United States and Ukraine, Peskov noted they’re keeping a very close watch on this meeting and Ukraine delegation’s trip, hoping the US will advise Ukraine against taking actions that might harm the entire Minsk settlement process.
Asked if Zelensky’s visit to the US might pose some risks to Moscow-Washington relations, Peskov stressed that the Kremlin does not believe it is the case since US relations to Russia have nothing to do with its relations with Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Zelensky embarked on his first visit to the United States it took him two years to schedule hoping to get Biden’s assurances on US commitment to support Ukraine in its standoff with Russia with the emphasis being on Nord Stream 2 pipeline, and to sign defense agreements between the two countries, Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes.
Political experts don’t believe that the US will leave Ukraine after the fiasco in Afghanistan- if nothing else to restore its international prestige- though they don’t expect much to change after Biden’s meeting with Zelensky.
On top of that Alexey Arestovich, one of Kiev’s top political advisors believes Ukraine will have no benefit in shutting down economic relations or border crossings with Russia despite the heated tensions between the two nations.
Speaking to the Ukraine 24 TV channel on Monday, Arestovich underlined there’s no question of completely severing ties with Moscow at present considering the potential negative consequences of such actions for the society and the state.
Although Ukraine is working to reduce its economic dependence on Russia, the country, at the same time, is reliant on billions of dollars of revenue that gas transit fees from Moscow bring and is one of Russia’s main export destinations though Russia is no longer Ukraine’s number one trading partner.
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