"Pure rumours": Zelenskyy dismisses speculation that foreign minister may be replaced
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has denied rumours that Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha may be dismissed.
Source: Zelenskyy during an event marking Ukraine's Diplomatic Service Day, as cited by Ukrinform and reported by European Pravda
Details: Zelenskyy said he has no plans to "change the foreign minister of Ukraine either today or tomorrow".
He added that Ukrainian government officials and representatives of the President's Office "work as a team", and that he personally has great respect for the work of diplomats and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"So these are actually just rumours originating from some MPs," Zelenskyy said.
Two MPs, Oleksii Honcharenko and Yaroslav Zhelezniak, had claimed that there are plans to replace Sybiha as foreign minister with his first deputy, Serhii Kyslytsia.
They said Sybiha is expected to be appointed as Ukraine's ambassador to Poland instead.
Background:
- The Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) voted for Andrii Sybiha's appointment as foreign minister on 5 September 2024. Sybiha took over from Dmytro Kuleba.
- Sybiha is a career diplomat who has worked in the Foreign Ministry system since 1997. From 2016 to 2021, he served as Ukraine's ambassador to Türkiye.
- Sybiha became a deputy head of the President's Office in late May 2021, overseeing foreign policy, and in July 2024 he was appointed first deputy foreign minister, replacing Mykola Tochytskyi.
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