The president of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelensky, visit today a white house that for a while was elusive. Your visit has been preparing for two years and one day has been delayed by events in Afghanistan. The Ukrainian leader has placed two sensitive issues: belonging to NATO and the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline between Russia and Europe, a Infrastructure to which Ukraine is opposed. Also the supply of lethal armament will serve to calibrate Biden’s commitment to the Ukrainian government. The chaotic withdrawal of Afghanistan causes some nervousness in all the countries of the world with which the United States has a security commitment. Washington’s financial aid for the Ukrainian armed forces is much less than that provided to Afghanistan and there have never been American soldiers fighting with the Ukrainians. Kiev has not been clear either until when the US commitment lasts. But unlike the Afghan national army, the Ukrainians have defended themselves their sovereignty, with debatable success. The separatists have not managed to move forward, but the government troops and the battalions that complement them have not been able to erase them from the map. The war follows and Zelensky will end the first mandate of him without having put an end.
For Ukrainians, the future offers more shadows than lights on the geopolitical plane. It is expected that this month Russia and Belarus sign a treaty on a narrower integration that could place Russian troops at the north-east borders of Ukraine. If that happens, Ukraine will be almost surrounded by borders controlled by Russia, from Belarus in the north to Russia itself, and south to Crimea and the transnistria separatist region in Moldova, where Moscow also has troops. Kiev enjoys international backup but Moscow can resurrect conflict as soon as the Ukrainian regime loses supports or interest. Afghanistan is another proof that the US commitment does not last forever. The short term, Kiev believes that today’s appointment sends an important message about the relationship between them. Few nations depend so much on the support of the United States and Ukraine, empantanada in a seven-year war with separatists backed by Russia. Until now, the United States has committed $ 2,500 million in support of Ukrainian forces since 2014, including more than 400 million only this year. But Biden is now predefining the red lines with Vladimir Putin, and Kiev wants to see on which side each of his interests fall in this priority readjustment. Ukraine is expected to strengthen its rule of law, including the reform of the judicial sector. It is urgent to reduce the enormous political and economic influence of oligarchs and combat corruptions vice president, Biden was the key person of the Obama administration in Ukraine. Kiev, on the other hand, always tries to value the contribution of his country to European security at the time containing Russia. That is why it is interesting to see to what extent it is important to bide the European flank. The softening of the position of it as regards the Russian gas supply to Europe confirms that the new priority is China. US does not want to be everywhere, Kiev does not want to fall from the list of concerns. “United States and Ukraine will announce the revitalization of the Strategic Association Committee. We are very interested in revitalizing not only the relationship, but also specifically this commission of Association as a means to do so, “explains a member of the Biden Administration. The Department of Defense will sign a strategic defense agreement that will improve cooperation in several urgent issues, including the safety of the Black Sea, the cyber field and the intelligence services. The relationship between both governments now has more solid foundations than with Donald Trump, who pressed Zelensky to investigate Biden and his son Hunter. That call was at the epicenter of Trump’s first political trial by the House before the Senate absolved the then president and declared him innocent of abuse of power and obstruction to Congress.
