Zaluzhnyi was not at Zelenskyy’s meeting with British defense minister; President’s Office and ambassador’s team offer conflicting accounts
Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, was absent from a meeting in Kyiv between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and British Defense Secretary Wes Streeting, with the ambassador’s office saying he was not invited and the Office of the President saying he chose not to attend, European Pravda reports.
Streeting arrived in Kyiv on August 5 and met with Zelenskyy and acting Defense Minister Yevhenii Khmara.
According to the report, the talks focused on protecting Ukraine from ballistic missiles and drones, as well as Britain’s support for Ukraine, including 3 billion pounds a year.
European Pravda noted, however, that Zaluzhnyi was not present at the meeting with Zelenskyy.
His media adviser, Oksana Torop, told the outlet that he had not been invited.
“Ambassador Valerii Zaluzhnyi was not invited to the meeting between the president of Ukraine and the British defense secretary,” she said.
At the same time, presidential communications adviser Dmytro Lytvyn said Zaluzhnyi should have initiated his own participation but did not do so and instead chose another event. He added that such visits are “an initiative matter” when the guest is at a level below prime minister or president.
“There is a customary protocol practice, many years old, that with a prime minister or president of another country, the ambassador to that country almost always arrives, but if the level is lower, then each ambassador determines this independently and informs us if he will attend. Today, as far as we know, the ambassador is participating in Foreign Ministry events as part of the annual meeting of ambassadors,” Lytvyn said.
According to European Pravda’s sources, Zaluzhnyi learned about the meeting only after it had already taken place, meaning he could not have indicated whether he wished to attend.
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