Ukraine Offered the United States to Create a Free Trade Zone

According to the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Kiev wants to attract funds necessary for defense with the help of a free trade zone with the United States. Ukraine offered the United States to create a free trade zone between the two countries  to attract additional resources that should go to Kiev's defense needs. This was announced by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba on Monday, September 6, on the air of the private Ukrainian TV channel ICTV. "We have an initiative that we proposed to the Americans. This is a free trade zone between Ukraine and the United States, because we want to strengthen our economy," he stressed. According to the minister, this step would allow attracting the necessary financial reserves. "To fight, you need money, and you need to earn it," the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry added on the Freedom of Speech program. Prospects for a visa-free regime Separately, Kuleba touched upon the prospects of establishing a visa-free regime with a number of Western countries. "We are constantly raising the issue of visa-free travel with our American partners," he said. According to the minister, there has been progress in dialogue with Canada and Great Britain recently, "We have already made progress in these issues." At the same time, the Foreign Minister did not specify what kind of dynamic this was, adding only that Kiev adheres to a policy of small steps on this issue. US President Joseph Biden held a two-hour meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on September 1. It resulted in a framework agreement on the strategic framework for a defense partnership, a $ 30 billion (€ 25 billion) memorandum for the construction of a power unit at the Khmelnytsky nuclear power plant, and a statement of support for Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic aspirations. Zelensky's first visit to Washington This was Zelensky's first visit to the White House as head of the Ukrainian state. The talks between the two leaders were originally scheduled for August 30, but were postponed twice. The parties were seeking to discuss the conflict in eastern Ukraine, security issues, including energy, as well as the renewal of the strategic partnership between Washington and Kiev.