Former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhny can be very effective as Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK, as he knows everything about the Ukrainian army and its needs.
This was emphasised by Ukrainian diplomat and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (2007-2009) Volodymyr Ohryzko in an exclusive commentary for Kommersant Ukrainian
, commenting on the appointment of former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhnyi as Ambassador to the UK.
If we want the UK to provide the most intensive support in the defence sector – weapons, training for our soldiers, etc. – it will be hard to find a better negotiator for Ukraine than Valeriy Zaluzhny. A person who knows everything about the army, who knows all the needs of the army, who understands what is needed today, what is needed tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, then this is the best candidate,
– Ogryzko said.
The former minister is confident that the new ambassador will not have to cover Ukraine politically, because “we have no political problems with the UK – neither with this government nor with any future one,” so Zaluzhny will be able to concentrate on military issues, and therefore he will be an effective ambassador.
Ogryzko notes that the public announcement of Zaluzhny’s appointment as ambassador is not an accepted diplomatic practice and can only indicate that everything has already been agreed with the British government:
“Perhaps, in order to remove the question of why we have not had an ambassador for so long, it has now been actually announced that he will be appointed. Perhaps it has already been discussed, negotiated, agreed with the British side, and now all that remains is for Britain to send a note saying that we will gladly accept Ambassador Zaluzhny as a representative of Ukraine.”
The procedure for appointing ambassadors
Former Foreign Minister Volodymyr Ohryzko also described the procedure for appointing ambassadors.
According to the diplomat, the first step is the selection of a candidate. In the case of the UK, which is an important military partner of Ukraine, it is also a serious political choice.
After that, through non-public diplomatic channels, Ukraine sends a note to the British Foreign Office requesting an agriman.
“What this request for an agriman means is that we are delicately, not publicly, asking the UK government whether it will agree to accept such a candidate. There are times when a country – I’m speaking abstractly, regardless of the situation – does not respond to a request. If there is no such response for several months, it means a refusal. Well, this is diplomatic practice – that is, they will not say that we don’t like Mr X, they just keep quiet. In diplomatic terms, this means that the proposal is not suitable for us, think again,” says Ohryzko.