Pompeo postpones Ukraine trip to monitor tensions in Iraq

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo postponed what would have been his first trip to Ukraine less than 24 hours before his scheduled departure amid ongoing tensions in Iraq, a State Department spokesperson said Wednesday.

The big picture: The State Department said the trip — which would have included stops in Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Cyprus — was meant to "reaffirm U.S. support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity" while the country seeks an end to a six-year military conflict with Russian-backed separatists. The trip would have also come as President Trump's Senate impeachment trial, centered around an alleged pressure campaign on the Ukrainian government, looms.

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