On the evening of June 7, the Office of the President amended the report on the results of the telephone conversation between the Presidents of Ukraine and the United States, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Joe Biden.
As noted by the Axios, initially the text stated that Biden emphasized the importance of providing Ukraine with the NATO Membership Action Plan. And now it says: "The US President assured that Ukraine's position will be taken into account when discussing strategic issues in NATO, as well as during scheduled top-level events." In turn, the President of Ukraine "stressed the importance of providing the Ukrainian state with a NATO Membership Action Plan."
"The Ukrainians mischaracterized the statement and corrected the record," a National Security Council spokesperson stated.
Later, the adviser to the head of the Office of President Mykhailo Podoliak explained to the Interfax-Ukraine agency why the OP had amended the text. According to him, this was due to the clarification of the wording with the American side.
"The initial report on the details of the conversation between the two leaders represented the common positions and mood during the negotiations. Namely the mood. Then there were consultations between the two parties. The wordings were refined on one of the most sensitive issues discussed. This is an element of ordinary diplomatic practice, when the final format of a report may differ in wording from the initial one," Podoliak noted, adding that one should not try "to artificially stir up drama where there is none."
Zelenskyy himself, in a commentary to Ukrayinska Pravda (Ukrainian Truth from Ukrainian), stated that he considered amending the press release insignificant and was pleased with the conversation.
«Yesterday I had a wonderful conversation with President Biden. Clear, meaningful, fundamental. I am very pleased with the results of the conversation and the prospects for further trust-based personal communication. Joe Biden literally assured me of full and unconditional support for Ukraine... Words are not important—concrete actions are important. Whether Ukraine finally gets the MAP or not is a matter of the willingness of the Alliance itself alone. If it gets it, it means that they really see us there. If it doesn’t get it, then this is also a very specific answer.»
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
President of Ukraine
Context. On the evening of June 7, Zelenskyy and Biden spoke on the phone. The American leader invited the President of Ukraine to visit Washington in July.
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