President Petro Poroshenko got nervous in a generally comfortable atmosphere of his rare press conference held on Feb. 28 in Kyiv when a journalist asked him about how a rich man president feels living in a poor country.
“I don’t want to discuss my life, but trust me it’s not sweet,” Poroshenko, whose fortune is estimated at $1 billion, said in response to a a question from Detector Media. “When I was being elected the president my assets were much bigger than now. I’m the only president who has this dynamics.”
Another question which triggered emotion was the one about his plan B — what would he do in case he loses the presidential campaign in 2019. “I want to stress that after the elections I will definitely live in Ukraine in any capacity. I’m not at all indifferent to Ukraine. And I will do everything to prevent revanche.”
Then Poroshenko all-but-predicted his re-election if he runs. “I haven’t lost a single election campaign in my life.” Poroshenko, however, refused to openly admit that he would seek re-election in March 2019.
Poroshenko spoke about his political rivals, ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and ex-Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, the war with Russia, the oligarchs, the lethal arms from the U.S., the new reforms in the defense sector and plans to release two Ukrainian hostages by the end of this week.
Here are his main quotes:
About Tymoshenko
In February, Russia’s foreign ministry published a photo of Tymoshenko speaking to Russian Ambassador to Germany Sergey Nechayev.
Poroshenko mocked her, telling the journalists:
“I would like to explain to our opposition politicians who are taking selfies with Russian ambassadors in the corners of the international conferences that the diplomatic victories are being made not in the conference halls but in the meeting rooms,” he said.
He, however, admitted that he regularly meets all the leaders of the political parties present in parliament. In his last meeting with Tymoshenko this year, they discussed the hiring of new members of the Central Election Commission.
About Saakashvili
Poroshenko once again claimed he stripped Saakashvili off the Ukrainian citizenship because he had “no other options.” He also remembered why he decided to hire the former Georgian president for the post of Odesa governor in 2015.
“I gave him citizenship on purpose. I was fascinated just like most people by the prospects which Mr. Saakashvili could have brought to Ukraine. I was trying to create his all the opportunities for that,” he said, adding that it didn’t bring to any result.
“I don’t think that Mikheil Saakashvili is a happy person today. But that’s his problem. I want to stress that his readmission to Poland… was perfectly correct from the legal point of view.”
About war and defense
Poroshenko announced that he would soon reorganize the armed forces fighting in Russia’s war against Ukraine. He said had filed a new draft law on national security, which envisages more civilian control over army and security forces.
“I was in doubts about it for a long time but decided that we need a civil Defense Minister,” he said.
Poroshenko also announced that Ukraine would receive more defense weapons from the United States soon.
“The first supply of those weapons should happen in a few weeks,” he said.
Poroshenko also spoke again in favor of sending the UN peacekeeping mission to eastern Ukraine.
“I will do all possible to deploy the peacekeepers because as of today it’s the only option which would stop killing of Ukrainians and reinstall the Ukrainian sovereignty in occupied Donbas.”
The oligarchs
Poroshenko refuted he cooperates with the oligarchs, including the exiled Dmytro Firtash, who is fighting U.S. bribery charges from Austria. Poroshenko reportedly made a deal with Firtash, agreeing not to pursue criminal charges against the energy-rich oligarch in exchange for supporting Poroshenko’s bid for the presidency in the May 25, 2014, election. Poroshenko also is accused of making deals with billionaire oligarch Igor Kolomoisky, whose PrivatBank fraud cost Ukrainian taxpayers $6 billion. And he is accused of being cozy with the richest billionaire oligarch, Rinat Akhmetov, which whom he reportedly has a lucrative business through the Rotterdam + scheme that prices domestic coal at unreasonably high rates, critics say.
“Rotterdam + is just a stock market index,” Poroshenko said. “Did Firtash’s position get significantly better?.. Or Kolomoisky? Does Ukrnafta of PrivatBank have no changes?” he said, speaking about the former Kolomoisky’s businesses. Ukrnafta, the oil producer, is now controlled by the state, and PrivaBank, the nation’s largest, was nationalized in December 2016.
“Some oligarchic media smear the president. I’m not afraid of this,” he added.
About Sheremet murder
When being asked again about lack of progress in the investigation of the murder of Belarusian-Ukrainian journalist Pavel Sheremet, who was bombed in a car blast in summer 2016, Poroshenko said again that he is ready to help with an investigation.
“I’m not a god. I don’t know who killed Pavel,” he said, adding that Ukrainska Pravda news website,w here the slain journalist worked, “shouldn’t monopolize the memory of Sheremet.”
About Medvedchuk
When being asked about the presence of Viktor Medvedchuk, a close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin as a negotiator on Ukraine’s side, Poroshenko called him “the most effective” negotiator “because it is Putin who personally takes decisions about the release of the prisoners.”
He added that he is ready to negotiate with anyone who would help to release the estimated dozens of Ukrainian hostages. Poroshenko also announced that two Ukrainian hostages will be released from Russian prisons by the end of this week.
