Zelenskiy: Little progress in talks with U.S. on missile defences
Ukraine's Efforts to Expand Missile Defence Production
Stalled Progress with the United States
May 25 (Reuters) - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday that Ukraine had made little progress in talks with the United States on expanding production of missile defences and was working with Europe to solve the matter.
"Unfortunately, there has been no progress for a long time with America regarding the expansion of anti-ballistic missile production," he said in his nightly video address.
European Collaboration and Acceleration Efforts
"We are trying to accelerate this work in Europe, the production of our own anti-ballistic systems on the continent in sufficient quantities."
Continued Dialogue and International Support
Ongoing Talks with the United States
Zelenskiy said Ukraine was continuing to talk to the United States on how it can help Ukraine and U.S. leadership was vital.
Support from France and Europe
Role of French President Emmanuel Macron
He thanked French President Emmanuel Macron for his role in developing systems and said Europe was instrumental in providing financial help for Ukraine to acquire weapons.
Importance of U.S. Leadership and Financial Aid
"Europe is helping us financially. But the leadership of the United States is also very much needed. Today it is very, very important to say this," he said.
Expectations for Diplomatic Initiatives
Gratitude for U.S. Expertise and Anticipation of Results
Ukraine was grateful for U.S. expertise, he said, adding it was "very important that there are results. The same applies to diplomacy. We expect new diplomatic measures with representatives of the President of the United States of America."
Stalled U.S.-Led Diplomatic Initiatives
U.S.-led diplomatic initiatives to move towards a settlement of the more than four-year-old war pitting Ukraine against Russia have stalled, with greater focus on the war with Iran. Zelenskiy said last week he was expecting new U.S. proposals on how to move the talks forward.
(Reporting by Ron Popeski and Oleksandr KozhukharEditing by Nick Zieminski)
