Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed hope that European Union leaders will find a way to provide the first tranche of the loan to Ukraine in April. He said this in response to a journalist's question, Ukrinform reported, quoted by BTA.
"I discussed the issue with EU leaders, as well as with European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Now we are more optimistic - they will find ways to partially finance us. We expect the first tranche of the amount agreed for this year, in particular, in April," Zelensky said.
He recalled that the decision to provide the 90 billion euro loan to Ukraine for 2026 and 2027 was made in December by all EU leaders.
As Ukrinform previously reported, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said that Hungary would block the 90 billion euro financial assistance to Ukraine and the 20th package of EU sanctions against Russia until the issue of resuming oil transportation through the "Družba" pipeline is resolved.
Ursula von der Leyen said yesterday that the EU would find ways to provide the promised 90 billion euro loan to Ukraine despite Hungary's resistance.
Zelensky also said that he wanted "clear" schedule from Washington for the upcoming trilateral talks with Russia, aimed at finding a way out of the conflict in Ukraine, reported Agence France-Presse.
He also indicated that Kiev would express objections to the Americans against the "dangerous", in his words, easing of sanctions against Russia. His comments come on the eve of a meeting in the United States between Kiev envoys and American negotiators to resume the negotiation process, interrupted by the start of the war in the Middle East.
Negotiators from the United States and Ukraine will hold talks tomorrow in Miami, as a source familiar with the matter said that they could lay the groundwork for another meeting between US President Donald Trump and Zelensky, Reuters notes.
The Ukrainian leader told reporters today that the American and Ukrainian working groups would focus on bilateral documents and discuss a wide-ranging drone deal during their meeting.