Zelenskyy plans staff changes in diplomatic corps – Ukraine's foreign minister

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has announced that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has decided to make changes in the leadership of certain foreign ministry institutions and that the ministry is preparing for structural reform.

Source: Sybiha during the national joint 24/7 newscast on Saturday 21 June, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Sybiha said the staffing decisions are expected ahead of a meeting of ambassadors which is scheduled for the end of July.

Quote: "The geopolitical situation requires the diplomatic service to find new approaches and arguments that are adapted to reality. Therefore, the president has made certain personnel decisions regarding the heads of some foreign ministry institutions, because the yardstick is very simple: results."

Details: Sybiha explained that the heads of Ukrainian diplomatic missions are expected to deliver results in the form of military packages for Ukraine, mobilisation of humanitarian and economic aid, and support for Ukrainians abroad.

"This is what actually measures the effectiveness of a particular head of a foreign ministry institution," he said. "Therefore, ahead of the ambassadors’ meeting which has been approved by the president of Ukraine, appropriate personnel decisions will be made with the aim of strengthening Ukraine’s diplomatic service."

Sybiha also said the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry is preparing for structural reform to adapt it to meet today’s security challenges.

He added that one of the key steps will be the abolition of the disarmament department.

"It is abnormal that ever since our state became independent, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has had a disarmament department. There will no longer be such a department in the ministry," Sybiha said.

Instead, new departments will be established within the Foreign Ministry that will focus on strengthening Ukraine’s defence capabilities.

"There will be departments that will work to strengthen our defence capabilities," the minister emphasised.

Sybiha said he hopes the ministry’s new structure will be approved as soon as possible. He said that it will respond to the scale of modern challenges, take account of best international diplomatic practice, and contribute to improving the effectiveness of Ukraine's foreign policy.

It is worth noting that the Foreign Ministry had previously considered the possibility of creating a NATO department.

Background: On 21 June, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that he had taken a number of decisions in response to recent remarks by Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin in which he laid claim to the entire territory of Ukraine. Zelenskyy’s response includes personnel changes in the diplomatic corps and adjustments to institutional management.

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