Ukrainian ambassador: Russia would not want N. Dendias to go to Mariupol

The sooner Putin realizes that he is running out of resources to wage war, the sooner he will end the invasion and sit down to talk.

This was the central message of the Ukrainian ambassador to Athens, Sergei Turchenko, who, speaking to reporters, reiterated calls for a reduction in third-country economic relations with Russia.

“We have been warning European countries in recent years that they will become hostage to their dependence on Russian gas, with implications for their real political independence – and that the time has come,” he said.

The Ukrainian ambassador welcomed the proposal of the Greek Foreign Minister (for which there was already a telephone conversation with his counterpart, Dmitro Kouleba) that Nikos Dendias go to Mariupol, head of the humanitarian mission.

He added, however, that at the moment the security conditions for this “noble” operation are not met, while he expressed the assessment that the Russian side will do everything to prevent the supply, so as not to see with the naked eye of the horrible truth about Mariupol a reliable, independent observer like Nikos Dendias.

The Ukrainian envoy to our country described as “a big lie” the claim that the Ukrainian side is obstructing the exit of civilians from Mariupol and accused Russia of forcibly moving residents to its own territories, confiscating their passports, and hitting motorcades. the territories under Ukrainian control.

Ask your consul in Mariupol, said Mr. Turchenko.

As for the requests for military assistance, in addition to the one that has already been transferred under Nikos Hardalias, the Ukrainian ambassador stated that they are primarily about air defense systems, not for the use of the Ukrainian army, which is under cover, but for defending cities against Russian air raids.

These requests have been addressed to NATO and all its members bilaterally, and therefore to Greece, without being limited exclusively to the S-300 systems that our country has.

As he pointed out, Ukraine realizes that as long as NATO does not want to make it a member or become directly involved, it will have to defend itself and therefore calls for armaments assistance.

In particular, the deployment of anti-aircraft systems is an alternative to the non-establishment (due to NATO reservations) of a no-fly zone over Ukraine.

However, the Ukrainian ambassador did not omit the comment that NATO’s hesitations may make the Allies themselves doubt the validity of Article 5 of the Atlantic Charter on mutual assistance in the event of a threat.

Mr. Turchenko reiterated his call on the Greek Foreign Ministry to reduce, as a sign of solidarity with Ukraine, the staff of the Russian embassy in Athens, following the example of countries like Poland, and wondered in particular about the symbolism of our stay in Russia. military attaché.

He also said it was not nice for a country hosting Ukrainian refugees to issue visas to Russian tourists at the same time.

As for the possibility of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressing the Greek parliament, he said that such a thing can only happen on the initiative of the Greek side.

At the same time, he announced that he had met with the Greek Minister of Shipping, to discuss with him two ideas: the cessation of the transfer of Russian oil from Greek ships and the utilization of Greek ports for the reception of humanitarian aid destined for Ukraine.

Finally, when asked whether Ukraine has raised the issue of writing off or restructuring the Ukrainian debt to international organizations or to its Western partners, the answer was that it is too early for that, as long as the amount of financial losses has not been assessed. from the ongoing war, but Ukraine is currently holding on financially.

K. Raptis