Pence Expresses 'Unwavering' U.S. Support For Ukraine's Sovereignty
Vice President Mike Pence expressed the Trump administration's "unwavering support" for Ukraine's sovereignty in a meeting with the country's foreign minister on May 10.
A White House statement said Pence met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin as President Donald Trump was meeting with Klimkin's Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov.
The statement said Pence stressed America's support for Ukraine's "territorial integrity" while urging Kyiv to "peacefully resolve the conflict" with Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.
The conflict with separatists began in 2014 about the same time Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, drawing condemnation and a series of sanctions on Russia from Europe and the United States.
Trump's meeting with Lavrov was aimed at fulfilling his campaign pledge to improve relations with Russia, while Pence's meeting with Klimkin appeared aimed at assuring Kyiv that better relations with Moscow would not come at Ukraine's expense.
Based on reporting by AP
That concludes our live-blogging of the Ukraine crisis for Wednesday, May 10, 2017. Check back here tomorrow for more of our continuing coverage. Thanks for reading and take care.
From the former U.S. ambassador to NATO:
Trump Talks Ukraine With Russian Foreign Minister
WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Donald Trump said his talks with Russia's foreign minister were "very good" and said both Washington and Moscow were working toward ending the six-year war in Syria.
Trump’s May 10 White House meeting with Sergei Lavrov was the highest-level meeting the U.S. president has had with a Russian official since taking office in January.
Trump discussed the issue of Ukraine, the White House said, and Trump "stressed Russia’s responsibility to fully implement the Minsk agreements," which set out conditions for a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine.
Russia has backed insurgents in eastern Ukraine, sparking a war that has killed more than 9,900 people.
Lavrov, meanwhile, told reporters at the Russian Embassy that Trump wanted "mutually beneficial, businesslike, pragmatic" relations with Moscow.
Lavrov said the issue of sanctions -- imposed by the international community on Moscow for its 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula -- was not raised during the meeting. And he brushed aside questions about Russia's alleged interference in last year's presidential campaign.
Lavrov also said that Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet for the first time in July in Hamburg, when the German city hosts a summit of leaders from the Group of 20 economic powers.
Earlier on May 10, Lavrov met with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, discussing Syria, Ukraine, and other issues.
Here is today's map of the security situation in eastern Ukraine, according to the National Security and Defense Council:
Ukrainian National Bank deputy takes over as Hontareva quits:
Ukraine's central bank says its deputy governor, Yakiv Smoliy, will temporarily take charge on May 11 as Governor Valeria Hontareva will step down that day.
Hontareva, a reformist who won praise from the West, submitted a letter of resignation to President Petro Poroshenko on April 10.
Hontareva took charge of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) in 2014, after Russia seized Crimea and with Ukraine in the throes of a conflict with Russia-backed separatists.
Her departure leaves Poroshenko with one fewer ally in power at a time when lenders are already questioning Ukraine's ability to follow through on promised reforms.
Hontareva's efforts to clean up Ukraine's financial sector irked tycoons who critics say have treated the country's banks like their private coffers.
She also came under fire from some ordinary Ukrainians who blamed her for losses they suffered after she was appointed to follow the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) advice to partially abandon state support for the hryvnya currency. (Reuters, UNIAN)