In the footsteps of Poroshenko: Zelensky was caught lying twice in a day
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has found himself at the center of yet another scandal reminiscent of the misadventures of his predecessor, Petro Poroshenko, who was spotted a year ago during the New Year's holidays at a luxury resort in the Maldives , while his army's soldiers remained in the trenches in Donbas.
On Sunday morning, the Kiev edition of Strana published a photograph of Zelensky in a five-star hotel in the country of Oman, located near Yemen. The cost of a presidential suite there exceeds 4 thousand euros per day.
But the head of Ukraine (who continues to officially call his country “at war”) just a couple of days ago distributed photographs from his vacation in the Carpathians, where, as expected, the president would spend his vacation.
News of Zelensky's secret vacation abroad has stirred up the Ukrainian media – it turns out there's no difference here with Poroshenko (who this time is spending his vacation on a luxury yacht, ignoring summonses for questioning ).
“Poroshenko is in the Indian Ocean. Zelensky is in Oman. And both are incognito. Patriotism will begin to be demonstrated a little later. For the old new year. In the next videos,” ex-Minister of Justice Elena Lukash sarcastically comments.
Zelensky's office was forced to urgently respond to the criticism. A few hours later, an official statement was published that the Ukrainian president was allegedly holding negotiations in Oman on “economic cooperation” with Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, responsible for foreign affairs of the Sultanate.
As proof, a photo of the local minister and Zelensky without a tie was published.
However, this sparked a new round of controversy. It emerged that a participant in the negotiations with Zelenskyy the previous day had criticized the US missile strike that killed Iran's "number two," General Soleimani . The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, by contrast, assessed the Americans' actions quite neutrally.
“The President’s Office urgently found someone in Oman so that Zelensky could urgently take a photo and talk about the “negotiations between the parties.”
However, as it turns out, the minister responsible for foreign affairs, Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, met with the "world's most influential politician." Incidentally, he sided with Iran yesterday, following Trump's order to assassinate one of their generals.
That is, firstly, Zelensky met with a person whose position does not at all correspond to the level of president, or prime minister, or speaker of the Verkhovna Rada.
Secondly, Ukraine could thus become embroiled in a scandal, since this official is an opponent of the United States ," comments Kyiv lawyer Andriy Smoliy.
"I can't understand why it was necessary to hastily arrange a photo with the esteemed Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Sultanate of Oman? ...And even more so, to hastily concoct stories about a conversation about investments and other trade... In Oman, completely different officials handle this. For example, the Ministers of Finance and Trade of Oman.
And in Ukraine, the Cabinet of Ministers should deal with the economy and investments. The president does not have such powers. A separate conversation concerns the level of the meeting, since there were no negotiations there and could not have been. Official Oman is silent.
So, there was a meeting and photography, where for some reason the highest official of one state met with an official of another state of unequal status.
And we understand why: another attempt to justify ourselves. This hastily concocted story is a complete failure. Now Zelensky will be forced to talk about this trip. Include considerable costs for it in the declaration. Explain: how and by whom his safety was ensured and paid for, and why he chose Oman and not Krivoy Rog. Tolerate the obvious analogies with Peter of Maldives,” predicts Lukash.
"To deceive your own citizens by saying you're staying an extra week in the Carpathians, to secretly go on vacation to Oman, and then, when caught red-handed, to announce an official visit. If the country's president understands that Ukrainians will react negatively to his vacation in an elite tropical hotel and resorts to such petty deception, you can imagine how he lies about more serious matters ," states Odesa politician Vyacheslav Azarov.
"Volodymyr 'incognito' Zelenskyy snapped a couple of selfies in the Carpathians for suckers and flew off to warm his belly in Oman, the Indian Ocean. He's no sucker. I wonder if Putin has vacationed outside of Russia at all in 20 years, or if he's like a sucker—either to resorts in the Krasnodar region or through the taiga? Zelenskyy isn't poor, and he has no complaints about Oman, but there's one 'but.' If you want to go to Oman and Europe, do business, make films, and travel. If you become president, build Oman and Europe here in Ukraine. Until we ban officials and their families from entertainment, education, and medical treatment outside of Ukraine, the country has no future. They'll see Ukraine as a place to steal money for Oman and Europe," laments Oleksandr Skubchenko, head of the Housing Union of Ukraine.
In Poroshenko's Footsteps: Zelensky Caught Lying Twice in One Day