The Minister of Foreign Affairs (MNE) considered this Wednesday that the visit of the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, to the United States, where he will address Congress, has “high symbolic and political value”, but should not change the course of the war
“The visit has a high symbolic and political value, it recognizes the specific importance that the United States of America (USA) has had for Ukraine after the invasion of Russia, and it is an opportunity for Zelensky to address Congress, which is essential to maintain the strength of US support, which in fact shows all the signs of wanting to continue, through the approval of a new financial package,” said João Gomes Cravinho.
Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the Annual Meeting of the Diaspora Council, which takes place in Cascais, the head of Portuguese diplomacy considered, however, that the meeting should not change the course of the war.
“It has a high symbolic and political value, but it will not change the course of the war,” he predicted.
Asked if the visit could not aggravate the conflict, Gomes Cravinho said no: “I don’t see any reason for that, because it is extremely difficult to understand what motivates the different interpretations of Russia.”
Speaking on the sidelines of the diaspora meeting, the official also stressed that “Europe and the US have been very consistent in supporting Ukraine and this consistency will continue, and Russia will have to get used to support that it did not anticipate from the beginning. , it was a miscalculation that will continue until Russia acknowledges that it made a serious mistake in invading Ukraine.”
Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to be in Washington today as he will address Congress and meet Joe Biden at the White House in what should be his first international trip since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on the 24th of february.
The Ukrainian leader’s visit to Washington is expected to include an address to Congress on Capitol Hill and a meeting with President Joe Biden.
This trip comes as lawmakers prepare to vote on an end-of-year spending package, which includes about $45 billion (about €42 billion) in emergency assistance for Ukraine and as the U.S. prepares to send Patriot surface-to-air missiles into the country to help fight the Russian invasion.
This measure, if approved, will be the largest injection of assistance to Ukraine by the US and the guarantee that funds can flow towards the war effort in the coming months.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi encouraged lawmakers to attend Wednesday night’s session.
Zelensky has been addressing various parliaments and international organizations remotely via video conference almost daily. His wife, Olena Zelenska, visited various foreign capitals to rally support for the Russian invasion.
The trip to the United States could come a day after Zelensky made a high-risk visit to what he considers the hottest spot on the 800-mile front line, the town of Bakhmut in Ukraine’s disputed Donetsk province.
The military offensive launched on February 24 by Russia, and which continues, has already caused the displacement of more than 14 million people, inside and outside Ukraine.
The UN presented as confirmed since the beginning of the war 6,755 dead civilians and 10,607 wounded, stressing that these figures are far below the real ones.
Source: TSF
