Ukraine rejects Russia's proposed ambassador to Kiev
Reuters
Published Aug 04, 2016 09:47AM ET
Ukraine rejects Russia's proposed ambassador to Kiev
KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine has rejected Russia's proposed candidate for its next ambassador to Kiev, a senior Ukrainian foreign ministry official said.
Mikhail Zurabov, who was Moscow's envoy in Kiev during anti-Russian street protests, Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea and its involvement in the separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine, stepped down in July.
The Kremlin has proposed Mikhail Babich, who has held a number of senior official posts in Russia including with the FSB security service, but Ukrainian foreign ministry official Olena Zerkal said Kiev had decided not to consider the proposal.
"The way it was proposed, it has been removed from the agenda," she said in a televised interview on channel 5 on Wednesday, without giving further detail on why the candidate was rejected.
"I think this will not have any sort of impact. What's more, the role of the former ambassador in building normal relations was completely minimal," she said.
In remarks to news agency Interfax Ukraine, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said the rejection was "not a question of the candidates or anything concrete, but about creating a positive dynamic in what's happening within the context of Russian aggression."
Ukraine replaced its own ambassador to Moscow with a temporary representative in 2014 following the collapse in relations between the former allies.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it would continue to offer Babich as a potential ambassador to Ukraine.
"However, if the Ukrainian side takes a decision to lower the level of our diplomatic relations and considers this reduced mode of diplomatic relations to be appropriate - that's the decision of the Ukrainian side," he told journalists.
Kiev and NATO accuse Russia of supporting pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine with troops and weapons, fuelling a conflict that has killed over 9,400. The Kremlin denies involvement.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.