Pompeo arrives in Kyiv for official visit

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Kyiv
the evening of Jan. 30 for a one-day official visit, the pravda.com.ua news site
reported. He will meet today with President Zelensky, Foreign Affairs Minister
Vadym Prystaiko and Defense Minister Andriy Zahorodniuk. “U.S. support for
Ukraine is unwavering and I’m intent on underscoring this as I meet with
Ukrainian government leaders to discuss ways we can advance our strategic
partnership and reinforce Ukraine’s position as a free and democratic state,”
Pompeo tweeted.

Pompeo sparked controversy on Jan. 24 when he allegedly
berated National Public Radio reporter Mary Louise Kelly after she asked him in
an interview whether he thought he did enough to defend career diplomat Marie
Yovanovitch, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine who may have been under
surveillance by indicted lobbyist Lev Parnas and others. In his tirade, he
reportedly questioned Ukraine’s importance to the U.S., asking rhetorically,
“Do you think Americans care about Ukraine?”

Zenon Zawada: This visit,
which had been planned since late last year and had been postponed at least
once, is likely to be an exchange of information on key issues, without any
major announcements or breakthroughs. The most important issues for Ukraine at
the moment are getting a new IMF loan program approved, reaching a new
agreement on natural gas supplies from Russia, and determining the next
diplomatic steps to reach a ceasefire in Donbas. The USD 300 mln in military
aid that has been the subject of the Trump impeachment hearings still needs
final approval this year (which is all but certain).