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WikiLeaks show turnaround in US attitude to 'discredited' Poroshenko

Cables released by WikiLeaks mention him 100 times, and some characteristics by US diplomats are far from complimentary

Petro Poroshenko AP Photo/Markus Schreiber

Petro Poroshenko

© AP Photo/Markus Schreiber

MOSCOW, May 29. /ITAR-TASS World Service/. US President Barack Obama was among the first politicians to congratulate Petro Poroshenko on his presidential election victory in Ukraine. He expressed readiness to meet him during a European tour, speaking barely five years after US officials described Poroshenko as a “disgraced oligarch”.

The US administration is familiar with the new Ukrainian leader. Cables released by WikiLeaks mention him 100 times, and some characteristics by US diplomats are far from complimentary, Kommersant daily reports.

Petro Poroshenko’s biography

Petro Poroshenko was born September 26, 1965, in the Odessa region. He has graduated from the Kiev University with a degree in economics from the faculty of international relations and international law.

In the 1990s, he engaged in business and headed the Ukrprominvest consortium. In 2000, he set up and chaired the Solidarity party. After the victory of the ‘orange revolution’, in 2005 he was appointed Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, and in 2007 — head of Ukraine’s National Bank. In 2009-2010 he was minister of foreign affairs, in 2012 he became minister of trade and economic development. Since December 2012, Petro Poroshenko is Verkhovna Rada deputy and member of the committee on European integration. He owns the Roshen consortium, the largest confectionery manufacturer in Ukraine. He ranks 7th in the Forbes list of richest people in Ukraine.

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