Zelenskyy held semi-closed meeting with media outlets hand-picked by Bankova itself, - Mokryk
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a semi-closed meeting with a group of media representatives selected by Bankova Street itself, after the Office of the President refused to publish petitions calling for an open press conference with independent journalists.
Journalist Danylo Mokryk reports on this, according to Censor.NET.
A semi-closed meeting
"After the President’s Office rejected several petitions calling for an open press conference with independent/critical journalists, Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a semi-closed meeting with a media pool selected by Bankova itself," the statement reads.
As reported, the meeting took place yesterday, but details of it only came to light today.
The journalist described this as "further subtle layers of contempt".
Zelenskyy on corruption in the Presidential Office
"But let’s take a look at Zelenskyy’s main (and only) message regarding corruption in the President’s Office, which was exposed by NABU this week.
Essentially, it boils down to "I didn’t know anything, there’s nothing to ask me about, but I reacted well".
If this had been a press conference by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, rather than a semi-closed get-together, I would have had a follow-up question:
"Mr President, please explain: how is it that the senior leadership of your Office is involved in raising illicit funds for a former minister’s bail – and yet you know absolutely nothing about it? Do you have absolutely no idea what your direct subordinates are up to? Have you created a management culture in which your subordinates believe that such activities are acceptable at Bankova Street?".
"Of course, I would also definitely have asked: ‘Mr President, did you really know absolutely nothing about the fact that the leadership of your Office continues to be in contact with your long-standing friend Tymur Mindich?’"", writes the journalist.
He added that, unfortunately, this was not a press conference at which such clarifications could have been made.
"And as it turns out, you can’t even submit a petition to hold a press conference," he added.
