Kallas on change of defense minister: This is Ukraine’s internal affair, but stability is important for European integration
Kaja Kallas, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, stated that personnel changes in the Ukrainian government are an internal matter for Ukraine, but she emphasized the importance of continuing reforms and maintaining stable cooperation with European partners.
According to Censor.NET, LIGA.net. reported on this.
Commenting on the resignation of Ukraine’s defense minister, Kallas noted that regardless of who heads the defense ministry, the European Union will continue to work with the new leader on issues of defense cooperation and European integration.
"It is certainly important for us to have partners for dialogue and to be able to continue our work. It is also important for us that the reform process continues, as we want to advance the EU’s enlargement agenda, and therefore we need to see that Ukraine, for its part, is implementing reforms," she emphasized.
According to Kallas, it is precisely the stability in the implementation of reforms that is a key condition for Ukraine’s further progress toward membership in the European Union.
What preceded it
- On July 14, the Verkhovna Rada supported a resolution on the resignation of Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko. The entire Cabinet of Ministers automatically resigned with her.
- On July 15, Mykhailo Fedorov said that he was stepping down as head of the Defence Ministry.
- Before that, several media outlets and MPs reported that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wanted to replace him with Ihor Klymenko, the incumbent interior minister.
- Rallies in support of Mykhailo Fedorov were held in Dnipro, Rivne, Zaporizhzhia, Lutsk, Cherkasy and other cities. Participants are protesting against his resignation.
- On July 16, the Verkhovna Rada voted to appoint the new Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. Serhii Koretskyi is Prime Minister.
- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that he would nominate Yevhenii Khmara for the post of Ukraine’s defence minister. Before doing so, he tasked Khmara with serving as acting head of the Defence Ministry.
