22 February 2021, Monday, 18:25 231

Uruskyi Could Avoid Media Scandal By Skipping Beginning Of Ceremony In UAE With Participation Of Kadyrov – Presidential Office

Редактор: Daria Zubkova

Mykhailo Podoliak, Advisor to the Head of the Office of President Andrii Yermak, believes that Vice Prime Minister - Minister of Strategic Industries Oleh Uruskyi could have avoided a media scandal by skipping the opening ceremony of the IDEX-2021 international military-technical exhibition in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) with the participation of the head of the Chechen Republic (subject of the Russian Federation) Ramzan Kadyrov.

He announced this to Ukrainian News Agency.

Podoliak noted that the current situation arose through no fault of Uruskyi and was publicized as hype.

"Conversations and refinements of all the details, of course, will take place after Mr. Uruskyi returns to Ukraine. On the one hand, we understand that such a situation with Uruskyi is a consequence of the protocol decisions of the relevant persons in the Emirates. The rest is a mandatory hype on speculation," he said.

At the same time, the adviser to the head of the Office believes that the Vice Prime Minister could have avoided a scandal.

"On the other hand, Uruskyi, in my opinion, could, for example, delay a little and skip the beginning of the ceremony, so as not to provoke such a media crisis," he added.

At the same time, Podoliak noted that before public commenting on the situation, it would be more correct to first hear the explanations of Uruskyi himself.

Earlier on Monday, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal posted a photo of Uruskyi next to Kadyrov from the UAE on his Facebook page and wrote that he expected urgent explanations from the minister.

In response, Uruskyi said that the photo was taken during the procession at the beginning of the ceremony at the IDEX exhibition, and the placement of the heads of official delegations was determined by the UAE protocol.

He assured that during and after the ceremony he did not contact Kadyrov and is not going to contact him.

"I do not consider it possible to shy away from the representatives of either the aggressor country or any other country, thus demonstrating the insecure behavior and weakness of the Ukrainian side," he also stressed.

According to Uruskyi, the Ukrainian delegation drew the attention of the local protocol to the unacceptability of such situations in the future.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, in January 2020, Zelenskyy accepted an invitation to attend the World Holocaust Forum, although the Israeli side did not foresee the time for his speech, while Russian President Vladimir Putin was also invited to participate and speak at the forum.

At the same time, when the head of state arrived in Israel, he gave place of the Ukrainian delegation at the forum to people who survived this tragedy.

Thus, Zelenskyy refused to participate in the event with Putin, but kept the rest of the meetings planned during the visit.