Biden's visit to Kyiv will be important signal of US' support for Ukraine: FM Kuleba

Amid Moscow's military offensive in Kyiv, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has expressed an interest in having US President Joe Biden visit Ukraine. Speaking to CBS News, Kuleba has emphasised that Biden's visit to Kyiv will be an "important message of support" of the United States to Ukraine. The statement of Dymtro Kuleba comes as several European leaders have visited Ukraine including United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Polish President Andrzej Duda.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stated that US President Joe Biden has shown "true leadership" in helping Ukraine by assisting the Russian military offensive in Kyiv started, as per the CBS News report. He added that Biden has also helped in mobilising the support of the international community for Ukraine. He highlighted that they would be "happy" in having President Joe Biden in Ukraine. Kuleba stressed that visit of Biden will also lead to a one-to-one meeting between Ukrainian President Voldoymyr Zelenskyy and his US counterpart. He also stated that meeting between Biden and Zelenskyy could "pave the way" for new supplies and military equipment and also possible discussions on a possible political settlement to bring an end to the conflict. 

Biden expresses interest in visiting Ukraine 

Earlier, US President Joe Biden said on Thursday, 16 April, expressed his interest in visiting Ukraine, The DailyMail reported. He stated that they were deciding on whether a top member of the US administration will visit Ukraine. Earlier, during his visit to Poland in March, Biden had stated that he would not be able to enter Ukraine as "they" would not let him. Before Biden visits Poland, White House press secretary Jen Psaki had indicated that Biden will not visit the war-torn nation.

White House officials have insisted that a security procedure needs to be in place for Biden's visit to Ukraine. It is to mention here that European leaders like Britain Prime Minister Boris Johnson, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, heads of Baltic nations and Polish President Andrzej Duda visited Ukraine in April. The European leaders who visited Kyiv held a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and discussed the ongoing situation in Ukraine.  Ever since the Russian invasion of Ukraine started, European nations have showcased economic and defence support to Ukraine and imposed sanctions against Russia. 

Image: AP