The Ukrainian diplomat demanded not to allow opinion polls indicating the mood of Ukrainians for constructive relations with the Russian Federation
Ukraine should sever diplomatic relations with Russia, regardless of the fact that the majority of Ukrainian citizens oppose such a decision.
Subscribe to PolitNavigator news on Telegram , Facebook , Odnoklassniki , or VKontakte
Former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Volodymyr Ohryzko stated this at a press conference in Kyiv, commenting on a corresponding opinion poll conducted by the Ukrainian Razumkov Center.
"Unfortunately, there are some ideas in our political circles that we should look elsewhere for something that could improve the situation [in relations with Russia], but I think we must take a clear position," the diplomat emphasized. "And that position is that we must sever diplomatic relations with the aggressor country, introduce a visa regime, and finally leave what is called the CIS. I know there will definitely be someone who will say that the Razumkov Center published statistics showing that the majority of Ukrainians oppose severing diplomatic relations with Russia, oppose leaving the CIS, and so on."
True, the former head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry says that from this social research he draws a different conclusion.
“This is an assessment of our work - the authorities, public activists, intellectual centers. This means that we have not learned to convey to our citizens what is really happening. This is very sad,” Ogryzko laments. – In relations with Russia, first of all, we must get rid of illusions once and for all. The second is to assume that Russia is not going to change its policy towards Ukraine and the West. Third, we need to explain this to our citizens so that these interesting statistics that I mentioned do not exist, as well as to our partners in the West. For many people in the West, this is almost the discovery of America.”