Kuleba doesn’t believe that possible personnel changes in Ukrainian govt will affect relations with partners
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba does not believe that possible personnel changes in the government of the country can affect Kyiv's relations with partners.
“I don't think any changes in the government can affect our relations with our partners, because our partners respect the president's authority to make the decisions I mentioned. This is a sovereign constitutionally guaranteed right of the President of Ukraine,” Kuleba said, answering questions from journalists at a joint press conference with his Portuguese counterpart Joao Gomes Cravinho.
Kuleba pointed out that “discussions are anchored in democracy, and Ukraine is a democratic country.”
“We can discuss tactics internally, but we are all united around our strategic goal of defeating Russia in Ukraine and restoring Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty. And there are no discussions about this strategic goal,” the minister said at a press conference in Kyiv.
He also stressed that the President of Ukraine, according to the Constitution, is the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and also oversees the defense and foreign policy of Ukraine.
“Therefore, he has the full constitutional right to make decisions that he considers necessary to ensure the effectiveness of management and achieve the strategic goal that I have described,” the head of the department added.
Speaking about the possibility of his resignation from the post of Foreign Minister of Ukraine, Kuleba said that he would leave the post if the President asked him to, or if he disagreed with the course of foreign policy - and now “neither of these two reasons takes place.”
“As for me, I have clearly stated my position. I see two reasons why I will leave the office. First, if the President asks me to do this, because he offered me this job, and I think it's fair that if he wants to see another person as a foreign minister, then I will agree. And the second reason is if I disagree with how foreign policy is defined and implemented. Neither of these two reasons is currently the case. That's why I keep working,” Kuleba said.