Ukrainian Prime Minister Expresses Confidence in U.S. Support for Her Country

SadaNews - Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko left the United States yesterday (Thursday), feeling optimistic about what she described as positive discussions with senior American officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bissent, from whom she said she found support for her war-torn country.

Svyrydenko stated, according to Reuters, that she used her meeting with Bissent to reaffirm Ukraine's position that the sanctions imposed on Russia following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine four years ago should not be eased, lifted, or postponed.

Washington had temporarily lifted some of the sanctions imposed on Russian oil to help cope with the supply shortages resulting from the Iran War, but this action has now been reversed.

Svyrydenko, in her only media interview during her visit to the U.S. to participate in the spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank, said, "I believe Secretary Bissent stands with Ukraine and advocates for it."

She added, "It was a very friendly discussion, and he is very supportive... I think all our counterparts here in the United States... are well aware that preventing sanctions evasion and tightening sanctions is a critical measure that must be followed to weaken Russia."

U.S. and Ukrainian officials met last month in Florida for talks on ending the war with Russia, but hopes for reaching an agreement soon have dimmed. Ukraine insists it needs security guarantees before agreeing to any peace deal.

Svyrydenko said, "I dream that this war will end, but it will end... with the right security guarantees, the right prosperity plan, and a suitable reconstruction and recovery plan... this would provide an opportunity for Ukrainians to live the life they deserve because they have resisted fiercely."

Svyrydenko noted that relations between Ukraine and the United States have deepened over the past year through joint work in the U.S.-Ukraine Investment Fund for Reconstruction, which approved its first project last month and is expected to approve a second project in the energy sector this summer.