Verkhovna Rada Chairman Ruslan Stefanchuk has rejected accusations by associates of the leader of the European Solidarity party, the fifth president Petro Poroshenko, that he was allegedly denied a foreign business trip to the resort city of Miami. He explained why he considers such accusations to be an April Fool's joke.
This is stated in a post by the speaker of the parliament on Facebook.
Thus, Stefanchuk, in response to the statement about blocking an "important trip," said that one should not accuse others of lying when only half of the truth has been publicly revealed.
"That is, half a screen. Because, as in every detective story, the most interesting thing is always at the end. And it radically changes the plot. The document in question was indeed created in February in the unified automated system for working with documents of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (UAS). But it was not signed by P. Poroshenko himself. Accordingly, it could not be considered by the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada. That is, at the time of the appearance of the "sensational screen" - it was not a document, but only its draft, which was not completed. I am attaching the lower part of the screenshot, where the status is clearly visible - in particular, the absence of P. Poroshenko's signature under his own statement - to this message. After all, it seems that Iryna Gerashchenko tried to hide this detail from the public. Accidentally? I don't think so," the post says.
The speaker also recalled that Poroshenko, as a person who is granted lifelong state protection, is aware of a different procedure for processing such business trips. Perhaps this is why the project was not signed in the EAC, so as not to launch a process that does not comply with the rules.
Instead, on April 1, he completed and submitted his application for consideration in accordance with the established procedure, as evidenced by a screenshot of the ERCC with the EAC.
"Of course, I will not publish this statement by P. Poroshenko about the business trip to Miami. But one nuance is worth mentioning: the "working" trip to the US resort city was supposed to begin on the morning of April 1, and the document was received by me only at 3:00 p.m. on the same day. To be honest, this already looks more like an April Fool's joke than a pre-planned interparliamentary mission. But how loud it sounds - "they are blocking international activities"! It's almost like: "I was not allowed to the meeting because I came when everyone had already dispersed." Here, political imagination really has no limits...", - Stefanchuk emphasized.
Before that, co-chair of the European Solidarity parliamentary faction Iryna Gerashchenko stated that the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada blocked the business trip of the leader of EuroSolidarity to the United States.
"How interesting. Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk called on Petro Poroshenko to love Ukraine in Ukraine. And blocked his trip to the USA. It turns out that at this time in the USA there is a whole detachment of servants. And Ms. Ustinova, who is only a "voice" in name. See this delegation? So, there is no opposition there, only the government. This delegation was gathered on one principle - loyalty to Bankova. And they can love Ukraine from Washington, right, Mr. Stefanchuk?" she wrote .
She also stated that Stefanchuk ignored an invitation from a professor and dean of the university where the leader of the "EU" was supposed to speak, which is a shocking devaluation of the opposition's interparliamentary activities, a misunderstanding of the basics of parliamentary diplomacy and the importance of horizontal ties, and a humiliation of universities, which play a key role in shaping the public opinion of Western elites.
"But for some reason, the call to "love Ukraine in Ukraine" does not apply to the servants themselves. If you Google the pages of the party and government deputies, almost all of them are now abroad, in single-party delegations, which for some reason are presented to partners as parliamentary. The parliament represents the entire cross-section of society, and therefore "European Solidarity" demands from Stefanchuk and co a public answer as to why single-party delegations of servants are now operating in Brussels, Tokyo, and Warsaw, a party that, together with the Ukrainian People's Party, has now actually usurped power in Ukraine and is building authoritarianism here. A separate topic is when the speaker takes on the role of a doorman, opening doors for some and closing them in front of others and enjoying himself," Gerashchenko reported.
Poroshenko's party issued an official statement accusing "the authorities of blocking Petro Poroshenko's visit to the United States." They explained that he was to be a "key speaker on Ukraine issues" at the center-right conference "Challenges in the Global Political Landscape - How to Strengthen Democracy."
He was also scheduled to meet with representatives of US President Donald Trump's team at Mar-a-Lago. The politicians allegedly wanted to discuss strategies for ending the war, deterring and countering Russia, and ways to strengthen "Ukraine's political, democratic, economic, and military stability."
As a reminder, in the winter, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, Ruslan Stefanchuk, also expressed surprise at the accusation by the leader of the Eurosolidarity faction, Petro Poroshenko, that he was once again not allowed to leave Ukraine to meet with European politicians.