Minister Bezhin asks local authorities not to undermine Ukraine’s unified foreign policy with their statements. DOCUMENT
Minister for Communities and Territories Vitalii Bezhin has urged city and community leaders to refrain from public statements and decisions that could undermine Ukraine’s unified foreign policy.
This was reported by Censor.NET.
Details
The ministry stressed that local governments’ autonomy in addressing matters of local significance must be balanced with consideration for national interests, Ukraine’s international obligations and its strategic foreign policy priorities.
For this reason, the ministry believes that public statements, appeals and decisions by local government representatives can have implications not only for domestic dialogue but also for international perceptions of Ukraine, the preservation of partnerships and the building of trust in Ukraine.
"The right to express a position, offer constructive criticism and engage in open dialogue are integral elements of democratic governance.
However, discussions of sensitive issues concerning international cooperation require sound reasoning, a responsible approach and an awareness of the potential consequences of public communication for national interests," the document states.
With Russian aggression accompanied by information influence operations, including disinformation, "individual public statements, official appeals and remarks by representatives of public authorities, regardless of their original content and their authors’ intentions, may be taken out of context, distorted and used by the aggressor state in disinformation campaigns to discredit Ukraine, create a false impression of its foreign policy priorities and undermine trust in international partnerships".
Appeal
Minister Bezhin therefore asked city and community leaders to "refrain from public statements, official appeals and decisions that could adversely affect the implementation of the state’s unified foreign policy, harm constructive dialogue with international partners or pose risks to Ukraine’s further European integration".
He also urged them to "focus efforts on finding practical solutions to resolve problematic issues through existing mechanisms for interinstitutional coordination and cooperation with international partners".
Background
- On 20 October, the Lviv Regional Council voted to declare 2027 the Year of Roman Shukhevych, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UIA). and Oleh Olzhych.
- The decision drew criticism from the Polish authorities. Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski initiated the inclusion of Lviv Regional Council member Sviatoslav Sheremeta on a list of undesirable persons, while the mayors of Kraków and Przemyśl said they might suspend their cities’ partnerships with Lviv.
