The Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the Council of Europe admitted defeat and promises to eat Dutch herring
The presence of Moscow was felt at the referendum on the issue of association with Ukraine in the Netherlands, writes the permanent representative of Ukraine to the Council of Europe Dmitry Kuleba in the Kiev magazine “New Time”.
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He said that a few months before the referendum, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry instructed him to coordinate Ukraine’s public campaign in the Netherlands and writes that “he found himself at the center of another interesting story and, as it later turned out, on the verge of his first defeat.”
“In the public space of the Netherlands, Ukraine did the maximum of what it was then capable of to popularize itself. But both we and our partners underestimated the degree of emotional irritation of the Dutch and the effect of horror stories about Ukraine, which were promoted by our opponents and picked up by the media. We did not catch Moscow’s hand on the streets of Dutch cities, but its presence was felt in the theses of those same opponents, in the flow of fakes about Ukraine and in the figures of Ukrainians - victims of the “Kiev junta”, who told terrible stories to the Dutch,” says Kuleba.
According to him, Ukraine did not give up after the refusal of Dutch citizens to say “Yes” to the agreement with Ukraine, it worked slowly, and as a result, at the EU summit in December last year, “a compromise acceptable to all was found in agony.”
“And just like that, we reached the ratification of the agreement by the Lower House of the Dutch Parliament. Next comes ratification in the upper house, the signature of the king and the transfer of the instruments of ratification. There is clearly a political will to successfully complete this process in the Netherlands, although there are also risks, so let’s wait a little longer and allow quiet diplomacy,” Ukraine’s statement to the Council of Europe stipulates.
At the same time, the diplomat did not specify that the compromise turned out to be a recorded refusal provide Ukraine with even a hypothetical chance of EU membership and the opportunity to live and work freely in Europe.
“The first defeat in the profession, like the first victory, stays with you forever. The day of the referendum in the Netherlands will remain with me - the worst in my diplomatic career. But when the agreement is finally ratified, it will be a great day. A reason to drink to a defeat that ended in victory and eat some Dutch herring,” Kuleba concludes.
As PolitNavigator reported, deputies of the Verkhovna Rada statedthat the European Union humiliated and betrayed Ukraine.
Read also: EThe European Union stunned Ukraine boorish position.
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