Ukraine delegation to visit US for talks on joint weapons and drone production
Olha Stefanishyna, Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States (photo: Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
At the end of September, a Ukrainian delegation will travel to the United States to hold talks on joint weapons production, Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Olha Stefanishyna announced.
During the visit, the legal part of the agreement on joint Ukrainian-American weapons production will be discussed, including the possibility of its production for sale to other countries.
Stefanishyna confirmed that during the meeting between President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President of the United States Donald Trump, the issue of military cooperation between Kyiv and Washington was actively and thoroughly discussed.
"Our president raised this issue – there was a very lively reaction from the US president: for several minutes, he continuously praised Ukrainian innovation and capabilities and gave positive signals," she assured.
As early as September 30, the Ukrainian team may arrive in the United States to hold negotiations. The United States is interested in many types of Ukrainian weapons, primarily drones.
"By the way, this was one of the questions from the US president. President Zelenskyy said that it could be about different types of drones, depending on the needs of the US government," Stefanishyna added.
Somewhat earlier, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Rustem Umerov confirmed that Ukraine and the United States had held negotiations regarding the purchase of American weapons and joint drone programs.
Arms agreements
On July 18, Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko stated that Ukraine and the United States plan to sign a drone agreement. This is a large agreement concerning the production of uncrewed aerial vehicles in the interests of the United States and Ukraine.
During a conversation at the end of July between Zelenskyy and Trump, the latter expressed interest in Ukrainian drones and said that his country was not opposed to purchasing them. Meanwhile, Ruslan Stefanchuk, Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's parliament), confirmed that Ukraine would sell its own domestically designed drones to the United States.
