“Photo: FB Donald Trump Donald Trump, who won the US presidential election, is likely to visit Ukraine. At least, Volodymyr Zelenskyi has already invited him to do it twice. But which of the American presidents came to our country to see him and how it affected the fate of Ukraine – in the material Briefly about. Bush Sr. was the first to oppose Ukraine’s independence […]”, — write: businessua.com.ua
Photo: FB Donald Trump
Donald Trump, who won the US presidential election, is likely to visit Ukraine. At least, Volodymyr Zelenskyi has already invited him to do it twice. And here are some of the American presidents who visited him in our country and how this affected the fate of Ukraine – in the material Briefly about.
Bush Sr. opposed the independence of UkraineThe first visit to Ukraine was the arrival of George Bush Sr. in August 1991 – three weeks before the declaration of Ukraine’s independence. It is noteworthy that, speaking to Ukrainians, the 41st US president supported Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, and not Ukraine’s exit from the USSR.
His speech in the Verkhovna Rada even received the ironic name “Kiev-style cutlet” (play on words: chicken Kiev – “chicken cutlet in Kyiv style”, but chicken – “chicken” also has the colloquial meaning of “coward”). In it, Bush Sr. warned Ukrainians against “suicidal nationalism.” That is why he refused to meet with supporters of independence in Kyiv.
In 1991, Bush Sr. was met at the airport by the speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, Leonid Kravchuk. Photo: wikipedia.org
Clinton actively disarmed our countryThe 42nd president of the USA, Bill Clinton, came to our country as many as three times. On January 14, 1994, he visited Ukraine on an unofficial visit on his way to Moscow. Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk met him at Boryspil airport. After the press conference, both presidents flew to Moscow, where the presidents of Ukraine, Russia (then Yeltsin) and the United States signed an agreement on the complete nuclear disarmament of Ukraine in exchange for guarantees of the inviolability of Ukraine’s borders.
At that time, it was time to sign the Budapest Memorandum (December 5, 1994), according to which Ukraine gave up nuclear weapons in exchange for security guarantees (the West, as it turned out, “forgot” about them).
Bill Clinton came to Kyiv three times. Photo: ukrinform.ua
On May 11-12, 1995, Bill Clinton came to Ukraine on an official visit and at the invitation of the second president, Leonid Kuchma. It was the first official visit of the US president to independent Ukraine. During the visit of the US president to Kyiv, a number of documents were signed. These are, in particular, the Statement of Intent to Create an International Research Center for Nuclear Safety and Environmental Protection, the Protocol on the Implementation of the Scientific Protocol on the Study of Problems Related to Cancer and Other Diseases Resulting from the Accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, and the Protocol on Cooperation in the Industry civil aviation.
His next visit, on June 5, 2000, also dealt with nuclear issues – the issue of closing the Chernobyl NPP was discussed. At the same time, Bill Clinton spoke on Mykhailivska Square and declared that the USA needs a strong democratic Ukraine as a partner, quoted Shevchenko and ended his speech with the words: “Glory to Ukraine!”.
Bill Clinton also visited Ukraine after the end of his presidential term – in 2010, he came at the invitation of Olena Pinchuk’s “AntiAIDS” Foundation. Photo: lavra.ua
Bush Jr. “fed” Kyiv with promises of Euro-Atlantic integrationThe 43rd President of the USA, George Bush Jr., visited Kyiv on March 31 – April 1, 2008, and met with President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. At that time, the American leader confirmed his support for the Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine and assured that this issue would not become the subject of negotiations with the Russian Federation: “I firmly believe that Ukraine and Georgia need to be given a road map,” Bush Jr. said then. But it was under George Bush Jr. that Ukraine was denied NATO membership at the Alliance’s Bucharest summit.
Bush Jr. came at the invitation of Viktor Yushchenko. Photo: wikiwand.com
Even as a senator, Obama went to Donetsk to observe disarmamentThe 44th president of the USA, Barack Obama, did not find time to visit Ukraine during his two terms of office. And in general, the time of his reign was marked by indifference to our country. At that time, the US paid less attention to Ukraine due to the complications and challenges in foreign world policy related to the events surrounding North Korea, Iran, the Middle East and China. And the US State Department unofficially declared that our country only causes disappointment.
However, Barack Obama visited Ukraine while still a senator. In 2005, he visited Donetsk, where he observed the disposal of Ukrainian ammunition and anti-aircraft missile systems. And later he said: they say, there are too many weapons in Ukraine, we don’t know how to store them, and this poses a threat to the whole world. In general, in the post of president, the problems of his historical homeland – Kenya – worried Obama much more.
Obama’s visit to Donetsk in August 2005 was related to the disarmament of post-Soviet Ukraine. Photo: dn.gov.ua/
Biden is a record holder for visits to KyivThe 46th President of the United States, Joe Biden, visited Ukraine most often among all high-ranking American politicians. As vice president under Obama, he visited our country six times: three times in 2014, in December 2015 and in January 2017.
The record holder for visits is Joe Biden, he visited us six times. Photo: president.gov.ua
As the owner of the White House, he came to Kyiv on February 20, 2023 with an unannounced visit. At that time, the US president was officially on his way to Poland, from where he was going to “send a signal to Putin.”
During one of his visits to Kyiv, Joe Biden had to experience air anxiety. Photo: wikipedia.org
And what about Trump?During his first term in 2016-2020, the 45th President of the USA, Donald Trump, never found time (or reason?) to visit our country. Although, for the sake of justice, it should be noted that it was then that the supply of weapons to Ukraine began war in Donbas. But Trump himself was not a supporter of Ukraine in his first term and was reluctant to accept President Petro Poroshenko. Time will tell how history will turn now and whether his possible visit will be fateful for us.
Source: kp.ua