Pompeo to visit Ukraine amid Trump’s impeachment proceedings

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit Ukraine “amid the drama on Capitol Hill over President Trump’s impeachment,” The Washington Post reported Tuesday.

The State Department announced Monday that Pompeo will travel to Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Cyprus from Friday to next Tuesday. Pompeo will be the highest-ranking official to visit Kyiv since the impeachment motion against Trump was submitted, CNN said.

The Secretary of State plans to meet with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as the country’s foreign and defense ministers. According to the New York Times, the State Department said that Pompeo intends to “reaffirm U.S. support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.” A State Department official “didn’t deny outright that Pompeo could also raise the prospect of the investigations sought by Trump into his political rival Joe Biden, Biden’s son Hunter and the debunked theory that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 election,” CNN said.

The U.S. top diplomat planned visit to Ukraine amid the impeachment proceedings against Trump, which were triggered by his relationship with Ukraine, is unexpectedly timed. “The Zelensky meeting, scheduled for Jan. 3, comes the same day as the Senate gavels back into session after the holiday recess, when congressional leaders will continue negotiating terms for the president’s trial on charges related to his conduct toward Ukraine,” Politico reported.


jyr0101@donga.com