Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the fact that his US counterpart Joe Biden accidentally referred to him as Russian President Vladimir Putin was a mistake that could be forgotten given all the support the US has given Ukraine.
Biden mistakenly referred to Zelenskiy as Putin at a NATO summit in Washington on Thursday before correcting himself two seconds later.
“It’s a mistake. I think the United States gave a lot of support to the Ukrainians. We can forget some mistakes, I think so,” Zelenskiy told reporters on Saturday at Shannon Airport, where he met Taoiseach Simon Harris.
Discussing the future of the conflict during the bilateral meeting, Mr. Harris expressed his condolences for the citizens Ukraine has lost in the war, including the bombing of Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital earlier this week.
He also expressed Ireland’s full support for Ukraine’s bid for EU membership.
Mr Harris, who became Taoiseach in April, offered further assistance to thousands of Ukrainian children forcibly relocated to Russia and Belarus and entering Russian re-education programmes since the war began.
Taoiseach Simon Harris and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy during a bilateral meeting at Shannon Airport, Co Clare.
He confirmed Ireland’s membership in an international coalition for the return of the estimated 20,000 children.
The two leaders last met on the sidelines of the Ukraine Peace Summit in Switzerland in June.
Mr Zelenskiy stops over at Shannon Airport on his way back from a summit to mark Nato’s 75th anniversary in Washington DC.
Ireland has provided €250 million in non-lethal military assistance to Ukraine under the European Peace Facility and the country has hosted more than 108,000 Ukrainians under the EU Temporary Protection Directive.
Members of the Irish Defence Forces have trained 455 Ukrainian personnel in mine clearance, battlefield casualty care and the use of non-lethal mine clearance equipment. – Additional information from Press Association
