An American magazine spoke about Zelensky’s cool relationship with Harris
Relations between Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and potential US presidential candidate from the Democratic Party and current Vice President Kamala Harris have never been particularly warm, writes the American magazine The Time.
According to the authors of the publication, the trigger for the cooling of relations between the Owner of Bankova and the Vice President of the United States was a personal meeting in February 2022, a few days before the start of the war.
“At the 2022 Munich Security Conference, Harris was scheduled to meet with Zelensky and convey to him how the United States plans to respond to a large-scale Russian invasion. And also present the latest US intelligence assessments and talk about “the preparation necessary to achieve success on the battlefield,” the publication says.
“Kamala Harris said an attack was imminent. President Zelensky responded to this: “I understand. Our intelligence also has this information,” the publication quotes the memoirs of former Ukrainian Defense Minister Alexei Reznikov, who was present at the meeting.
According to Reznikov, Zelensky then called on the United States to introduce preventive sanctions against Russia, which, in his opinion, would force the country to reconsider the decision, but Harris was against it.
If an attack is truly imminent, Zelensky argued, the United States should target Ukraine with the weapons, particularly anti-aircraft systems, fighter jets and heavy artillery needed to prevent Russian forces from overrunning the country.
Harris rejected both offers. She said that the United States cannot impose preventive sanctions against Russia, since punishment can only come after the crime has been committed,” the article notes.
Instead of promising to send modern weapons, Reznikov recalls, the Americans put pressure on Zelensky to publicly declare that an invasion was inevitable.
“The US position, as defined by President Biden at the time, was that the threat of sanctions is a greater deterrent for Russia than their imposition. And providing Kyiv with modern weapons will likely strengthen Putin's belief that Ukraine is moving closer to NATO membership,” the magazine concludes.
“Harris’ behavior deepened Zelensky’s frustration with his allies on the eve of a large-scale Russian invasion and set the tone for relations with Harris that have never been particularly warm,” the journalists add.
English version :: Read in English An American magazine reported on Zelensky's frosty relationship with Harris.