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Photo from Ukrinform – UATV
We do not support candidates, we support principles: reforms, commitment to the Minsk process and the euro-Atlantic orientation of Ukraine.
US Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations Kurt Volker made this statement in Budapest, the Válasz Online media outlet reports.
“We do not support individuals and candidates, we support principles,” he said, referring to the United States
According to Volker, incumbent President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko did more for reform in the past four years than had been done in Ukraine for the proceeding twenty years and did not try to rig the election. Now, the world partners of Ukraine will have to cooperate with the president-elect.
“They [Ukrainians] want more change, faster and Zelenskyi ran his campaign on the basis of promising integrity and reform[…] The people voted for that, massively, so they now have an expectation on him,” the diplomat noted.
According to Volker, the newly-elected President of Ukraine may lose the support of Ukrainians if he agrees to a suggestion of Russia that Ukraine should give up certain territories in exchange for peace.
“People’s view of Zelenskyi would change very fast if he suggested he would do that. He has, in fact, said the opposite. He said that he will insist on the full restoration of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and he supports the process that is already in place to do that. Doing otherwise would turn people against him very quickly,” he said.
Volker also underscored the importance of the deployment of a UN peacekeeping mission in Donbas, calling it “the best way forward.”
Summing up, Volker pointed to the significance of the development of Ukraine through fundamental reforms.
“Ukraine needs to continue to develop economic reform, political reform, security sector reform and resilience as a country. We hope that there can be an effective process for ending the war in the East as well, that Russia can conclude peace but whether or not Russia does that, it is still about helping Ukraine be a successful and sustainable country.”
