U.S. State Department’s Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations Kurt Volker met on Monday with a number of lawmakers of the Verkhovna Rada after arriving from Donbas to Kyiv.
“Kurt Volker has shared his impressions of the visit [to Donbas]: the terrible conflict in its violent phase, as it is perceived in the West, demolished infrastructure, schools… We thanked him for his visit to Donbas and proactive position,” Head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee for Foreign Affairs Hanna Hopko wrote on her Facebook page.
According to her, during the meeting she touched upon a number of issues, in particular, the strengthening of sanctions against Russia and the consolidation of the U.S. and the EU “for the sake of the real progress in the implementation of the security component.” “We need to see the cessation of shelling as the result of joint efforts, which is extremely important, especially after the escalation of the situation and human losses,” the parliamentarian stressed.
The importance of preparing for the visit of the U.S. president to Ukraine after visits of high-ranking officials of the U.S. government was also discussed. “We expect important guests this summer, as it was announced earlier,” Hopko said.
In his turn, head of the subcommittee on energy saving and energy efficiency of the parliamentary fuel and energy committee Oleksiy Riabchyn, who also attended the meeting, said that during the meeting they “received very strong signals of support for Ukraine and readiness to advocate tougher sanctions for the non-fulfillment of the obligations by the Kremlin.”
“It seems to me that the U.S. State Department’s special envoy in Ukraine quickly got the hang of things and is already trying to delve into the details,” the MP wrote on his Facebook page.
According to Riabchyn, the meeting was also attended by Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Oksana Syroid and U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch.
Hopko recalled that after Kyiv, Volker will visit Vienna, Paris and London, “where he will discuss with western partners further steps for a peaceful settlement of the situation.”
