20 September 2024,   01:30
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Blinken, Kuleba grab some McDonald’s fries to celebrate chain in Kyiv

Over large fries and a cherry pie, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba credited his American counterpart Antony Blinken with helping get the U.S. fast-food restaurant McDonald’s to reopen in Ukraine after Russia’s invasion, writes Reuters.

The two top diplomats grabbed a quick bite at a McDonald’s in Kyiv before a joint news conference and after Blinken met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Blinken is on a 2-day trip to Ukraine, the first by a top U.S. official since Kyiv’s counteroffensive began in early June.

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”.

Blinken said McDonald’s was eager to come back to Ukraine and the two diplomats wanted to mark the food chain’s return with a quick visit: “We’ve been saying to each other… the next time I was in Kyiv we should get a chance to stop by”.

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