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Biden, Zelensky discuss US plans to provide 900,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses to Ukraine

The leaders also discussed the need for close cooperation on energy security

WASHINGTON, June 8. /TASS/. US President Joe Biden has held a phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelensky on Monday, during which they discussed the plans of the US administration to hand over 900,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses to Ukraine, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Monday in a statement published after the talks.

"The leaders also discussed the need for close cooperation on energy security and the fight against COVID-19, including U.S. plans to provide 900,000 vaccine doses to help Ukraine address the pandemic," the statement reads.

Biden invited Zelensky to visit Washington later this summer, Psaki added.

The presidents talked about the US-Ukrainian strategic partnership in support of Zelensky’s plans to tackle corruption and implement a reform agenda based on "shared democratic values and Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations" that "delivers justice, security, and prosperity to the people of Ukraine."

"President Biden affirmed the United States’ unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of ongoing Russian aggression in Donbas and Crimea," the statement says.

Earlier, Zelensky stated on Twitter that during the phone call, Biden invited him to visit the White House in July of this year.

The White House had been considering organizing a meeting of US President Joe Biden with his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelensky before the Russian-US summit in Geneva, yet declined to move ahead with the meeting after Zelensky decided to replace the management of state energy company Naftogaz, the Axios portal reported on Monday citing a source in Biden’s administration.

Earlier, the Kremlin and the White House announced that the much-awaited summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Joe Biden would take place in Geneva, Switzerland, on June 16.