“Bipartisan irritant”: Yermak increasingly causes irritation in Washington

The head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak, is increasingly causing irritation in Washington, according to more than a dozen sources among former and current US officials, as well as congressional aides.

This is reported by Politico .

In an article titled “The Ukrainian Official Washington Loves to Hate,” the publication describes Yermak’s complex and increasingly tense relationship with both American administrations — Biden and Trump. While under Biden, the irritation remained mostly “behind the scenes,” with the return of Donald Trump, the restraint disappeared.

During his recent hastily arranged visit to Washington, Yermak struggled to organize meetings. According to five sources familiar with the situation, the visit appeared disorganized, with no clear plan and some officials openly asking, “Why is he here at all?”

A canceled meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the lack of a response from Vice President J.D. Vance’s office, and the forced wait at the White House are just a few examples of the not-so-warm atmosphere surrounding the Ukrainian official.

According to journalists, some of the interlocutors describe Yermak as overly demanding, harsh in communication, and incompetent in understanding domestic American politics. In addition, some fear that he has inaccurately conveyed the US position to the Ukrainian leadership. One source called him a “bipartisan irritant.”

According to insider information, Yermak, for example, believed that agreements with the United States on critical minerals could automatically transform into security guarantees for Ukraine. American officials called this approach “absurd.”

The publication noted that despite almost six years of presence in the highest state positions, Yermak is still not perceived in Washington as a confident player in the field of diplomacy .

Earlier, Ukrainian politician Volodymyr Omelyan stated that Ukraine should change the destroyed vertical of power, because total corruption and the crisis of governance only benefit the enemy, not our state, as evidenced in particular by the recent visits of the Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak to the United States and his efforts on the diplomatic front .

Also, Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze claims that the last visit of the Ukrainian delegation to the White House once again showed that it is worth changing its composition and appointing a new special representative of Ukraine in negotiations with the US, because Andriy Yermak cannot continue to perform these functions.

The day before, the executive director of the public organization “Anti-Corruption Center” Darya Kaleniuk emphasized that instead of Andriy Yermak, another person should be appointed for negotiations with the US in order to lower the temperature in relations with Trump.

By the way, diplomat Dmytro Chekalkin added that a Ukrainian delegation led by the head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak is urgently leaving for the United States to discuss the issue of minerals – however, such negotiations are unlikely to bring any significant results , especially after the recent emotional statements of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky. He also noted that Western allies are seriously concerned about the foreign policy activities of the head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak and indicate a misunderstanding of key messages, in particular due to the language barrier and general incompetence.

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