U.S. President Barack Obama and President-Elect of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko discussed the future plans of new president during their meeting in Warsaw.
“In my discussions with him today it’s clear that he understands the
aspirations and the hopes of the Ukrainian people. And when I say the
Ukrainian people, I mean all of the Ukrainian people,” Obama said
following the meeting with Poroshenko on Wednesday.
According to Obama, at the meeting the presidents discussed further
plans of Poroshenko for bringing order to the east, economic plans and
the importance of rooting out corruption.
“We discussed issues of energy, making sure that Ukraine becomes a
more energy-efficient economy, but also one that is less dependent,
solely on energy sources from Russia, and I have been deeply impressed
by his vision, and partly because of his experience as a businessman in
understanding what is required to help Ukraine grow, and to be
effective,” the U.S. president said.
According to him, the challenge now for the international community
is to make sure they are supportive of new president’s efforts to reform
the country. In particular, Obama said that the United States is
intended to help Ukraine to train and professionalize the Ukrainian law
enforcement and military.
“I think that the Ukrainian people made a wise selection in someone
who has the ability to lead them through this difficult period, and the
United States is absolutely committed to standing behind the Ukrainian
people and their aspirations, not just in the coming days and weeks, but
in the coming years, because we’re confident that Ukraine can in fact
be a thriving, vital democracy that has strong relationships with
Europe, and has strong relationships with Russia – but that can only
happen if we stand clearly behind them during this difficult time,”
Obama said.
