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Washington Post reporters believe that the new US administration is trying to induce Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to “fight rampant corruption in his own country” and is therefore delaying the organization of Zelensky’s first conversation with his American counterpart Joe Biden.
The administration of US President Joe Biden postpones its telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, expecting more efforts from him in the fight against corruption and progress on a series of reforms. This is stated in the editorial material of The Washington Post dated March 13.
As the authors of the article point out, the new US administration is trying to encourage Zelenskiy “to fight rampant corruption in his own country, which is vital to stabilizing its economy and preserving its fragile independence from Russia.”
The journalists recalled that in a telephone conversation with Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba last month, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken “emphasized the importance of Ukraine maintaining progress in the fight against corruption and the implementation of the rule of law and economic reforms “.
In addition, The Washington Post highlights that last week the US administration imposed sanctions on businessman Igor Kolomoisky, “thus sending an unequivocal message about its expectations.”
The journalists of the publication also recalled the recent sanctions by Ukraine against the People’s Deputy of the “Opposition Platform – For Life” Viktor Medvedchuk and related television channels, as well as the criminal cases against the top executives of PrivatBank.
However, The Washington Post believes that Zelenskiy should show an even greater commitment to “fight the oligarchs”, push for judicial reform, restore the independence of the central bank and rule out any attempt to weaken the National Anti-Corruption Office. In addition, journalists note that the Ukrainian president should support criminal cases against Kolomoisky.
Biden took over as president January 20. In your first phone conversation at this position, held with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
A week after taking office, he also had a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
After his inauguration, Biden never spoke to the Ukrainian leader, but has repeatedly expressed his support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, including in a conversation with Putin and at the Munich conference.
On February 23, Kuleba said a phone conversation between Biden and Zelensky was already in the works.
On March 3, Zelenskiy denied journalists’ assumptions that the lack of personal contact with Biden was due to tensions between the two countries.
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