Biden talks with EU leaders, spends 90 minutes with Zelensky

U.S. President Joe Biden discussed his Dec. 7 call
with Russian President Vladimir Putin with European leaders on Dec. 9. He spent
90 minutes on a call with President Volodymyr Zelensky, whitehouse.gov reports.
The White House called the meeting “very warm”, and included issues connected
to the call, such as Ukraine’s energy resilience. The press announcement on
president.gov.ua stressed the view that Nord Stream II was primarily a
political project. The senior administration member from the White House reiterated
that Biden had made no concessions to Putin at all.

James Hydzik: Neither
description points to any conversation regarding the sanctions laid on Dec. 9
against former officials Portnov and Tupytskyi. While the possibility of a
separation of security and judiciary reform matters exists, Biden’s position
regarding the need for Ukraine to step up with it’s top-down reforms is well
known. The Biden administration will continue to support Ukraine’s
self-defense, but the judiciary reform issue will not be dropped.