Zaluzhnyi told Zelenskyy that he would run for president. Bankova tried to dissuade him, - media
Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the former commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and current Ukrainian ambassador to the United Kingdom, was invited to Kyiv on the eve of the British prime minister’s resignation. According to available information, during the meeting with him, they discussed whether he would agree to run in the presidential election if it were scheduled for the fall.
According to Censor.NET, the publication "UP" reports this, citing its own sources.
The reason was a mere formality
"A formal pretext for summoning Ukraine’s ambassador to London to Kyiv presented itself—His Majesty’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer was just about to tender his resignation. Britain is a strategic partner of Ukraine, so President Zelenskyy and Ambassador Zaluzhnyi spent the first part of their face-to-face meeting early last week discussing the situation in London and its possible implications for Ukrainian-British relations," the publication states.
According to sources close to both participants in the meeting who spoke with the publication, the president then turned to the topic of the presidential election.
Election Issues
"Zelenskyy said that the situation on the front lines has been developing positively of late, society remains fairly united, and therefore a window of opportunity has opened for holding elections. However, the main task is to hold them in such a way that the country does not experience a new internal split; therefore, the president continued, it is necessary to avoid the risks that a confrontation between Zelenskyy and Zaluzhnyi would entail," the article states.
According to UP sources, the president finally asked the former commander-in-chief a direct question: "If the elections are held in the fall, will you run for office?"
Zaluzhny said "yes"
And, according to those interviewed, he received a clear answer: "Yes. I will."
"After that, the conversation continued for some time, but Zelenskyy didn’t even offer Zaluzhny any options for his future career path—it didn’t make sense. However, according to sources in the government, among the possible offers, the Presidential Administration was prepared to discuss not only diplomatic posts but virtually any government position, even that of head of government," the authors of the article assert.
Instead, Zaluzhnyi tried to explain his position, saying that he had never sought a political career, but that many people were pinning their hopes on him, and he could not explain to them why he should disregard their trust. The president and the general shook hands and went their separate ways.
Meeting with Umerov and Arakhamia
During Zaluzhnyi's visit to Kyiv, he also met with NSDC Secretary Rustem Umerov and the head of the "Servant of the People" faction, David Arakhamia.
"They repeated virtually the same arguments: the possibility of social division, the danger of an overly contentious campaign, and risks to the state. Zaluzhnyi’s response remained unchanged as well. After that, even the most experienced negotiators from Bankova ran out of arguments. But as they were leaving, they still asked Zaluzhny: ‘Brother, please think it over one more time,’ the article states.
The article notes that after Zaluzhnyi’s departure from Kyiv, it became clear that Bankova’s attempt this summer to restart the political process and organize elections in the fall had run into a serious obstacle.
It was previously reported that Zaluzhnyi leads Zelenskyy by 12% in the Ukrainians' trust rating.
