The visit of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Ukraine and Germany will take place on January 18 to 20, according to a statement released by the U.S. Department of State on Tuesday.
“In Kyiv, Blinken will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba to reinforce the United States’ commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Department of State Spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement.
According to the document, on January 20, Blinken will travel to Berlin, where he is scheduled to meet with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.
In turn, the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine said that on January 19, Blinken will pay a visit to Ukraine at the invitation of Foreign Minister Kuleba.
“The visit will be a continuation of close coordination between Ukraine and the United States in order to deter Russia from further aggression,” the ministry said.
It is noted that Kuleba and Blinken will hold talks on the further implementation of a comprehensive containment package for Russia, practical support for Ukraine by the United States, and active diplomatic efforts to resolve the Russian-Ukrainian armed conflict.”
The parties will also discuss issues of strategic partnership between Ukraine and the United States in the areas of security, trade, investment and others.
On the 30th anniversary of the official recognition of Ukraine as an independent and sovereign state, the U.S. Embassy said that relations between the countries are now stronger than ever.
“Today, we celebrate 30 years since the United States officially recognized Ukraine as an independent and sovereign state. The U.S-Ukraine relationship now stands stronger than ever as we work in partnership to ensure Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and forge Ukraine’s prosperous, democratic, and Euro-Atlantic future,” the embassy said on Facebook on December 25.
Two American Island-type boats, which the United States has given to Ukraine as part of material-technical assistance, have arrived in Ukraine on board a cargo vessel, the Ukrainian Navy’s press service said.”Two Island-type boats, which have been given the names the Fastiv and the Sumy, arrived today, on November 23, on board the Ocean Grand vessel from Baltimore, Maryland, the U.S.,” the press service said.The Ukrainian Navy ensign will be hoisted on the Fastiv and the Sumy soon, after which they will begin performing their duties maintaining security in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov under the command of Ukrainian crews, it said.A new group of Ukrainian sailors earlier took part in a passing out ceremony at a U.S. Coast Guard shipyard after taking a six-week training course to operate Island-type boats, the press service said.
The United States welcomes the position of Bulgarian President Rumen Radev on the Ukrainian Crimea, the Department of State said.”We welcome the statement by President Radev, in which he reaffirmed Bulgaria’s support for Ukraine. The United States, the G7, the European Union and NATO were clear and united in our position that, despite Russia’s attempt to annex Crimea, this is Ukraine,” the Department of State said.Earlier, the European Truth publication said the press service of Bulgarian President Rumen Radev clarified the position of the head of state regarding the occupied Crimea due to his statement during the televised debates in the framework of the election campaign.
The United States will provide Ukraine with new funding to help diversify its energy resources, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said.
“We are also discussing ways to ensure the security of energy supply to Ukraine. That includes providing new funding to help Ukraine diversify its energy resources, working with key allies and partners to bring to bear all available leverage and pressing for an extension of Ukraine’s gas transit agreement with Russia and supporting efforts of Ukraine to connect its electrical grid to Europe’s,” Blinken said at a press conference following a meeting of the United States-Ukraine Strategic Partnership Commission in Washington on Wednesday.
Ukrainian exporters in 2021 for the first time sent one sea container with frozen raspberries to the United States and Canada. This event is important for domestic producers, since this berry is traditionally more expensive in the markets of these countries than in other regions of the world.
As reported on the website of the Ukrainian Horticultural Association (UHA) on Monday, the importance of this event for the development of production and freezing of berries in Ukraine is explained by the high level of requirements for product quality and logistics, which were successfully overcome by Ukrainian suppliers this year.
“One shipment of raspberries was sent to Canada and the United States in the amount of one sea container. The logistics took about one and a half months, and the buyer was satisfied with the quality of the supplied products and is considering the possibility of continuing cooperation with Ukrainian suppliers on an ongoing basis,” the association said.
The association said that the higher import price for berries in the United States and Canada is due to high requirements for the quality of products, for the confirmation of which Ukrainian exporters have been certified by the FDA (The U.S. Food and Drug Administration).
“The United States and Canada account for about 80% of all global imports of frozen raspberries in value terms and about 65% in physical terms. However, Ukraine has traditionally exported frozen raspberries mainly to Poland, which makes good money on the re-export of Ukrainian raspberries to other countries of the world,” the organization said, citing Economist of the Investment Department of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Andriy Yarmak.
According to the UHA, the United States imports frozen raspberries from Chile, Mexico and Serbia, and Canada from Chile, Serbia, the United States and Mexico.
The approximate carrying capacity of a standard 40-foot sea container is 27 tonnes.
“Accordingly, for Ukraine, which is one of the five largest world exporters of frozen raspberries, it is very important to gain a foothold in these two most important sales markets. This is especially important amid the expected growth in production of all types of berries in 2022-2024. It remains to hope that not only the volume, but also the quality of the berries produced will grow,” the association said.
According to the data on the website of the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club, in 2020 Ukraine produced 35,000 tonnes of this berry, ranking seventh in the world in terms of its production. Some 89% of this berry was grown on household farms.
Last year, Ukraine exported 539 tonnes of raspberries, which is 2% of its total production. At the same time, Poland was practically the only consumer of Ukrainian fresh raspberries.
