Yushchenko Balks at Envoy

Jan. 25, 2010

Ukraine’s accreditation of Russian Ambassador Mikhail Zurabov is up in the air after outgoing President Viktor Yushchenko said Saturday that he would only accept the new ambassador if his accreditation papers were addressed to his name.

“The papers must be addressed to Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko,” he said on the talk show “High Politics with Yevgeny Kiselyov” on Ukraine’s Inter television channel.

Kommersant reported Friday that Yushchenko would not accept Zurabov’s accreditation because it did not name a Ukrainian head of state.

President Dmitry Medvedev appointed Zurabov last summer but refused to send him to Kiev as long as Yushchenko was president.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday that Zurabov would arrive in Kiev “shortly.”

(MT)

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