Ukraine to initiate new formats of cooperation with United States

"The US-Ukraine strategic partnership is based on common values ​​and principles. These principles are democratic, they have deep roots in both our peoples and, therefore, have a great future. And it is because of these principles that we are now being attacked by the same country: Russia," Newly appointed Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States Oksana Markarova said at the Kyiv Security Forum, organized by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Open Ukraine Foundation on March 10.

As Markarova stressed, Ukraine wages struggle both against Russia's military aggression and inside the country: for equal rules of the game, fair justice, rule of law and more.

"Unfortunately, this way of transforming Ukraine into a market democracy has not been and will not be easy and straightforward. However, there will always be enough reformers in Ukraine, political will, honest business and, most importantly, civil society that together with our international partners, including the United States, will help, advise, encourage, sometimes criticize, but make the hard way together to this success," she said.

"The success of this struggle is important not only to us. It is important to the whole world," the Ambassador said.

Markarova also recalled the statements by the new U.S. administration, which wants to regain the global leadership of the United States in defending democracy around the world.

"Ukraine is probably the best place where the United States can demonstrate such leadership by defending the democracy we are fighting for. Because Ukraine with Crimea, with the de-occupied Donbas, Ukraine with peace, economically strong Ukraine, with the rule of law and strong institutions, Ukraine as member of NATO and the EU is not only the key to our success, it is the key to security and development of Europe and the entire Black Sea region," Markarova stressed.

The newly appointed Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States stressed that both countries should strengthen cooperation, sanctions policy towards Russia, security in the region through Ukraine's accession to NATO. To do this, the existing formats of cooperation will be filled with new content.

"We will also initiate new formats, in particular, in those new issues, including countering propaganda, cyberattacks, in which Ukraine already has the experience to share with the world and our strategic partner because we were the first to experience these problems, we understood how to fight them and created safety locks on some of them," she summarized.

As reported, on February 25, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree appointing Oksana Markarova as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the United States.

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