Kiev has made little progress in negotiations with the United States on expanding production of anti-missile defense systems and is currently working with Europe to resolve the issue, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday, according to Reuters.
“Unfortunately, for a long time there has been no progress in the relationship with America in terms of expanding the production of anti-ballistic missiles,” Zelenskiy said in his video address to the nation on Monday night.
“We are trying to accelerate this process in Europe, the production of our own anti-ballistic systems on the continent in sufficient quantities,” added the leader from Kiev.
Zelenskiy also said that Ukraine continues to talk with the United States about how it can help Ukraine and that the US's leadership role is vital.
He thanked French President Emmanuel Macron for his role in developing the systems and said Europe had played a key role in providing financial aid to Ukraine to purchase weapons.
“Europe helps us financially. But the leadership role of the United States is also needed. Today it is very, very important to say this,” the Ukrainian president said.
Ukraine is grateful for the expertise provided by the United States, he said, adding that it is “very important to get results. The same goes for diplomacy. We expect new diplomatic measures from the representatives of the President of the United States of America.”
US-led diplomatic efforts to reach a resolution to the more than four-year war between Ukraine and Russia have stalled, with attention now turning more to the conflict in the Middle East.
Zelenskiy said last week that he was waiting for new proposals from the US on how to advance the negotiations.
