Speaker Mike Johnson not to meet with Zelenskyy due to being "very busy"

US House Speaker Mike Johnson has stated on Wednesday, 25 September, that he would not be meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday.

Source: Johnson’s press conference, reported by Voice of America correspondent Kateryna Lisunova on Facebook

Details: When asked whether he would meet with Zelenskyy and if not, whether it was because of Zelenskyy’s trip to Pennsylvania, Johnson responded that he couldn't schedule a meeting with Zelenskyy this week due to being very busy.

Quote: "And I don't even think I'll be in town now tomorrow. 

But look, what I would have communicated to him, if we sat down, we would have talked about this letter about the Ambassador.

I think it was a very terrible development and it strains the relations between the two nations at a time that [is] very unfortunate for Ukraine, so I regret that."

Details: Zelenskyy is scheduled to hold several meetings in the US Congress on Thursday. There will be a closed bipartisan meeting in the Senate, with Senators Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell accompanying the Ukrainian president to the chamber at 09:00. The meeting is expected to last about 1-1.5 hours.

At 11:00, there will be another closed bipartisan meeting in the House Armed Services Committee, with Representatives Gregory Meeks and Michael McCaul expected to participate. This meeting will last about an hour.

Background:

• Earlier this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited a military factory in Scranton, Pennsylvania, that produces metal casings for the much-needed 155 mm artillery shells for the Ukrainian army.
• According to BBC News Russian, Scranton is the hometown of US President Joe Biden and Pennsylvania is one of the key battleground states in the upcoming November presidential elections. Zelenskyy was welcomed there by Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Senator Bob Casey and Congressman Matt Cartwright. All of them are Democrats.
• Zelensky’s visit to Scranton caused some dissatisfaction among Republicans. Some perceived his visit to this pivotal state as a form of campaign support for their Democratic opponents.
• On Thursday, 26 September, Zelenskyy is expected to visit the Capitol and meet with lawmakers from both parties, although Johnson will not be among them. 
• Johnson played a crucial role in the April passage of a bill allocating US$61 billion for supporting Ukraine and related initiatives. However, the most radical Republican opponents of the bill threatened to remove Johnson from his position if he allowed the bill to be voted on. The motion to remove him ultimately failed.

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