Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Michael R. Pompeo talked on Jan. 6, just three days after the U.S. secretary of state canceled — for the second time — a planned visit to Ukraine. He had been scheduled to start a five-nation tour on Jan. 3, the same day that the U.S. killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in a drone attack near the airport in Baghdad, Iraq.
Zelensky’s official website said the two discussed rising tensions in the Middle East after attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. Also on Dec. 27, an American contractor in Iraq was killed during a rocket attack carried out by an Iranian-backed militia. Zelensky voiced concern over the possible deterioration of the situation in the Middle East if U.S. and coalition troops leave Iraq hastily.
Pompeo appreciated Ukraine’s condemnation of the attack on the American Embassy in Iraq and “reiterated the strong U.S. support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” according to a readout of the phone call from Morgan Ortagus, the U.S. State Department spokesperson. The American side underscored its “long-term strategic partnership” with Ukraine.
Zelensky and Pompeo also discussed Russia’s six-year war in Ukraine, including the latest round of peace talks on Dec. 9 in Paris among the leaders of Germany, France, Ukraine, and Russia. A recent mutual prisoner exchange — freeing a total of 200 captives — and the recent signing of a new natural gas transit agreement with Russia also came up in the telephone conversation.
No official date for Pompeo’s trip to Ukraine and other nations in the region has been publicly announced.
In another diplomatic move, the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States, Volodymyr Yelchenko, was received in the White House by U.S. President Donald Trump on Jan. 6. During the meeting, Yelchenko officially handed in his credentials to Trump.
