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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
Ukraine still has not decided on a candidate for the new ambassador to the United States because several strong contenders refused the post. The absence of an ambassador at a critical moment has already drawn criticism from members of parliament, but a final decision has not yet been made. Minister of Foreign Affairs Andriy Sybyga told this on 7 November in an interview on the Ambassadors program broadcast on Ukrainian Radio. According to the foreign minister, the president is continuing to decide on a candidate, while the diplomatic mission is operating as usual.
The minister explained that finding a worthy candidate turned out to be a difficult task. The head of the foreign ministry discussed the appointment situation on Ukrainian Radio.
"Several people, truly strong candidates who were offered this post, refused. So for now this question remains open; the president is deciding," said Foreign Minister Andriy Sybyga.
Sybyga emphasized that the absence of a permanent ambassador does not affect the work of the diplomatic mission in Washington. The duties are being carried out by the chargé d’affaires ad interim, and the embassy’s professional team continues to operate as usual. The minister also stressed that the results of the U.S. elections do not in any way affect the process of appointing a diplomat, and the main selection criteria remain the candidate’s professional and personal qualities.
Among other priorities of the foreign ministry, the minister named completing appointments of heads of consular offices, in particular the consul general in New York. Work directions include digitizing services, simplifying procedures, reviewing the electronic queue system, and enabling issuance of ID cards abroad. Each year Ukrainian institutions issue about 250 thousand passports, and more than 8 million Ukrainians currently live abroad.
Why the ambassador post is still vacant
The post of Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States has remained vacant since 3 August, when President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree dismissing Olha Stefanishyna from the position. The first candidate considered for the post was then-Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko, but she declined. Later, deputy head of the Office of the President Pavlo Palisa was considered, but he also refused to head the embassy, asking to be returned to the military.
Earlier Informator reported that among the candidates for the post, besides Palisa, sources named former foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba and other names from the military, diplomats, and politicians, but President Zelensky has still not made a final decision. We also wrote that, according to Politico, candidates fear taking on exhausting work in Donald Trump’s unpredictable administration at a critical moment of the war, and Politico explained the reasons for such a prolonged candidate search.
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