Ukraine said coal imports from the US strengthened relations with Trump
The agreement on the import of anthracite coal from the United States to Ukraine helped strengthen relations between official Kyiv and President Donald Trump, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
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This was reported to Reuters by a Ukrainian state-owned company that imports coal from
USA.
“For U.S. President Donald Trump, the agreement provided critical coal orders for the state of Pennsylvania, whose constituents Trump focused on during the campaign. For the Ukrainian side, this agreement helped show its benefit to the White House against the backdrop of the war in Donbass and the disruption of coal supplies from the occupied territories,” the statement says.
It is noted that Trump's campaign aimed at improving relations with the Kremlin has alarmed the Ukrainian authorities. But the situation improved when President Petro Poroshenko visited the White House on June 20 last year. Trump said after the meeting that he wants to sell coal to Ukraine.
“Ukraine is already telling us that they need millions and millions of tons now... We want to sell it to them, and everyone else around the world who needs it,” Trump said.
The Americans created special reserves by supplying coal to Ukraine. As the agency notes, it was after the conclusion of the coal agreement that the Trump administration announced that it was considering the possibility of supplying defensive weapons to Ukraine to counter Russian militants. On December 12, US President Donald Trump signed the defense budget for the 2018 fiscal year. The document provides for the provision of $350 million in defense assistance to Ukraine, including authorizing the possibility of transferring lethal weapons.
Let us remind you that due to the war in Donbass, Ukraine lost the opportunity to extract anthracite from mines in territory not under its control. In addition, under pressure from ATO militants, at the end of 2016, a blockade of railway tracks was launched, along which coal was supplied to the LDPR under “gray” schemes. Ukraine solved this problem by agreeing on coal supplies from the USA and South Africa. The first ship from the United States moored at the transshipment complex of the State Enterprise “MTP “Yuzhny” on September 13. After this, several more bulk carriers with coal were delivered to Ukraine for the enterprises of the Akhmetov DTEK holding.
Ukraine says US coal imports have strengthened its relationship with Trump.