Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba congratulated Tony Blinken on his appointment as U.S. Secretary of State and expressed hope for strengthening the Ukrainian-U.S. strategic partnership.

"Congratulations to Antony Blinken as he assumes the office of U.S. Secretary of State. Looking forward to further strengthening the Ukraine-U.S. strategic partnership for the benefit of our nations. Let our alliance bring a great chord in Transatlantic unity & resilience," Kuleba wrote on Twitter on Tuesday evening.

As reported, on January 26, the U.S. Senate approved the candidacy of Antony Blinken for the post of head of the U.S. Department of State proposed by U.S. President Joe Biden. During the 2020 presidential campaign, Blinken acted as the unofficial spokesman for presidential candidate Biden, covering his views on foreign policy issues to the media.

Blinken's acquaintance with Biden dates back to the period 2002-2008, when he began to lead the apparatus of the Democratic faction of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, one of the chairmen of which was Senator Biden.

In the first administration of ex-President Barack Obama (2009-2013), Blinken served as National Security Advisor to Biden, who was vice president then.

In 2013-2015, Blinken served as Deputy National Security Advisor to the President of the United States, in 2015-2017 – as Deputy Secretary of State of the United States.

Blinken, as law graduate from Harvard and Columbia Universities, began his civil service career during the presidency of Bill Clinton (1994-2001), for whom he prepared speeches on foreign policy issues. Blinken also served in the staff of the U.S. National Security Council, was a special assistant to the president, and was tasked with the issues of the U.S. relations with Europe.