Antony Blinken arrived in Kyiv on Wednesday in a gesture of support.
Over large fries and cherry pies, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba discussed the importance of McDonald’s coming back to Ukraine after Russia’s invasion. The top diplomats grabbed a quick bite at McDonald’s in Kyiv before a joint news conference.
Mr Blinken took to X to share pictures from their visit to McDonald’s. He wrote, “Thanks to Foreign Minister @DmytroKuleba’s efforts, businesses like @McDonalds restaurants re-opened their doors in Ukraine a year ago. The United States and our allies and partners will stand united with Ukraine, for as long as it takes.”
See the post here:
Thanks to Foreign Minister @DmytroKuleba‘s efforts, businesses like @McDonalds restaurants re-opened their doors in Ukraine a year ago. The United States and our allies and partners will stand united with Ukraine, for as long as it takes. pic.twitter.com/x4qhw6V5FN
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) September 6, 2023
Blinken is on a two-day trip to Ukraine, the first by a top U.S. official since Kyiv’s counteroffensive began in early June, according to a Reuters report.
Speaking to reporters while they ate, Kuleba recalled how he told Blinken by phone after Russia’s invasion how important it would be for the fast-food chain to return to Ukraine.
“The secretary said he heard me and he will look hard at what can be done,” Kuleba said. A few days later his team received a phone call from the U.S. embassy about the request, he said.
“I think having McDonald’s in the country is a message: a message of confidence… This is how the comeback of McDonald’s started – in the phone conversation. And this is why we’re here tonight.”
The world’s biggest burger chain closed its restaurants in Ukraine and Russia in March 2022, following Moscow’s invasion of the eastern European country, Reuters reported.
But it reopened some branches in Ukraine in September 2022 while in Russia, the U.S. company sold its outlets. They reopened in June 2022 under new Russian branding.