President Volodymyr Zelensky has lashed out at Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, accusing the minister of engaging in diplomacy with Russia behind his back.
“I’m learning about our moves in foreign policy from the internet,” Zelensky said, emotionally, on the afternoon of June 27, at an emergency briefing at his administration in Kyiv.
Earlier that day, Klimkin told reporters that Russia had sent Ukraine a diplomatic note regarding the 24 Ukrainian sailors it had captured in the Black Sea last November. On June 26, the deadline expired for Russia to release those sailors, as instructed in a ruling by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in May.
But instead of releasing them, Russia sent Ukraine a provocative note, demanding that Ukraine guarantee its assistance in prosecuting the sailors for what Russia says was a violation of its maritime borders.
Klimkin publicly condemned Russia and sent a response, calling on Russia to obey the tribunal’s ruling and release the Ukrainian sailors.
Zelensky said Klimkin had to coordinate any such actions with the president.
“I’m responsible for the foreign policy of Ukraine. And yet I have not seen the note we sent to Russia, because Klimkin doesn’t think it necessary to discuss such things with the president,” Zelensky said.
Klimkin responded to Zelensky soon after the briefing. He told the Ukrainska Pravda news website that the foreign ministry has the authority to send notes to Russia without the president’s approval. He added that the message was not political, and only called on Russia to obey the tribunal’s ruling.
Klimkin is one of Ukraine’s longest-serving ministers, having held the post of foreign minister since June 2014. He was appointed by Zelensky’s predecessor, Petro Poroshenko, who lost his re-election bid to Zelensky in April.
Zelensky has been trying to get Klimkin replaced with Vadym Prystaiko, currently serving as Klimkin’s deputy. But the parliament has dragged its feet in voting for Prystaiko. In early June, it failed to fire Klimkin.
Until now, Klimkin has been helping Zelensky’s administration, consulting with the new presidential team on foreign policy issues. But after Zelensky lashed out at Klimkin on June 27, that assistance could come to an end.
“I see that the president and I have tactical and strategic differences of views on the issue of stopping the Russian aggression,” Klimkin told Ukrainska Pravda. “In these conditions, I don’t see how I can continue helping.”
With Zelensky not having control over parliament, Klimkin may not be replaced until after the July 21 parliamentary election. Zelensky’s party Servant of the People is expected to secure the largest representation in the next parliament.
