US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed Washington’s support for Ukraine at a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday.

Axar.az reports citing foreign media that Washington will continue to strengthen its defence partnership and close cooperation with Ukraine to guarantee the country’s security, Blinken said at a joint news conference in Kyiv.

For his part, Zelensky thanked the US for maintaining sanctions against Russia and complained about the lack of unity in this regard in the European Union.

"In Europe, unfortunately, there are different views on this issue, and sometimes it does not meet Ukraine's interests," he said, noting that he not only discussed occupied Crimea and Donbas with Blinken but also the Nord Stream 2 project and security in the Black Sea and Azov Sea regions.

Zelensky recalled that Ukraine plans to hold a summit on the Crimean Platform - Zelensky's initiative to return Crimea to Ukraine -- and invited US President Joe Biden to join the meeting.