'I was struck by the meeting with Zelensky': the senator spoke in the US Senate

US Senator Rob Portman, speaking in the Senate, said he was impressed with the meeting with President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky, writes "Voice of America".

Photo: president.gov.ua

“He’s smart, a good communicator and determined.” This is how US Senator Rob Portman described the new Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky. He also praised Zelensky’s “modesty and appropriate” response to the senator’s question about the great support among voters that the new president received. Zelensky then said that the large support in the elections reflected not so much his popularity as the desire of people for “change, reform and improvement of life.”

On the subject: 'I will begin in English': President Zelensky spoke in English. VIDEO

Speaking in the Senate with a detailed report to US lawmakers about his trip to Ukraine, Portman shared his impressions of meeting with Zelenskywhich lasted almost an hour and covered a wide range of issues, including Russian aggression, propaganda, the seizure of Ukrainian sailors, Ukrainian reforms, as well as support for the diaspora.

“We had a good conversation about Russian aggression in Crimea and Donbass,” the senator emphasized. — President Zelensky visited the frontwhere the fighting takes place. I was there last year. There is a real war going on there, 13000 people have been killed on the eastern border of Ukraine. He spoke openly about the bravery of warriors, as well as their needs in terms of military systems and basic conditions."

Photo: president.gov.ua

During the meeting, politicians also discussed Russian propaganda on the eastern border and jamming the signals of Ukrainian television. Following an exchange of views, Senator Portman told the US State Department about ideas for cooperation, which can combat propaganda and disinformation.

Portman assured Zelensky that he and his colleagues would do everything possible in the US Senate to ensure that the issue of the release of 24 sailors captured by the Russians on November 25 last year was the focus of the crisis resolution. He approvingly said that President Trump refused to meet with President Putin during the Big 20 summit in Argentina, and the UN recently issued a statement calling for the return of sailors to Ukraine.

On the subject: Zelensky's triumph and detractors

Portman said he hopes the new Ukrainian president "will courageously continue reforms, whether it comes to ending corruption, government transparency or civilian control of the military."

“At the end of the day, we talked about the importance of the Ukrainian diaspora in the United States, which numbers about two million people, thousands of whom live in Ohio—my constituents,” Portman said. “They have high expectations of his leadership and are willing to do whatever they can to help.”

“I returned from a trip to Ukraine with hope. The hope is that Ukraine is ready to write a new chapter in its history, and it will be a chapter of freedom, where the government and society act in the interests of all citizens. The United States must continue to be a good friend and ally on this path,” the American legislator emphasized.

As ForumDaily wrote earlier:

• 9 May reported that the personal lawyer of US President Donald Trump Rudolph Giuliani goes to Kievwhere he is scheduled to meet with President-elect of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky.
• A day later, Giuliani stated that the trip cancels. The reason is "people who are enemies of the president and the United States."
• “There was a serious fear that the new [Ukrainian] president would be surrounded, literally, by the enemies of the president [of the United States] and people who - at least in one case - are clearly corrupt and involved in this scheme,” he said.
• 1 June it became known that in the House of Representatives of the US Congress presented a draft law providing for the possibility of providing Ukraine the status of the main ally of the United States outside of NATO for the period before its entry into the North Atlantic Alliance. This status can be used to simplify the procedure for transferring defensive assets to Ukraine.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Trump invited Zelensky with an official visit to Washington

British journalist: Zelensky’s election could overthrow the Kremlin regime

Following Saakashvili: who can return to Ukraine

Zelensky first visited the front line in the Donbas. A PHOTO

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