During a luncheon at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 28, President Viktor Yanukovych urged investors to visit Kyiv during the spring.
"In order to ‘turn on’ Ukraine, it’s enough to travel to Kyiv and see with your own eyes how the chestnut trees blossom during the spring. This is when it gets warm and women in Ukrainian cities begin taking off their clothes. You will see such beauty! It is very beautiful!" Yanukovych said in Ukrainian. The president experienced difficulty pronouncing the "uviknuti," which in Ukrainian means "to turn on" and is part of the slogan advertised on Cable News Network to improve the country’s image.
Christia Freeland, Global Editor at Large for the Reuters news agency attending the lunch, as saying Yanukovych’s comment was "politically incorrect," according to the Ukrainska Pravda website, which posted an audio file of Yanukovych making the remark.
"Political correctness has yet to reach Ukraine, but it’s nice nonetheless to hear about the beauty of Ukrainian women," the website quoted Freeland as saying.
