Poroshenko: May God help Zelensky
In an address to the Ukrainian nation on the eve of Volodymyr Zelensky’s inauguration, former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko wished his successor a successful presidency.
“I wish Volodymyr Zelensky a successful presidency. A month ago we were fierce opponents in the elections. But tomorrow, as it turns out, he will be the president of my native country. The country I love and whose European future I firmly believe in. So may the Lord preserve Ukraine and help its new head in his work,” he said.
According to Poroshenko, the mere fact that there is a change of government shows that Ukraine belongs to the European civilization.
The outgoing president promised to remain involved in politics because “the positive changes, where they exist, have not yet become irreversible”.
“It is my duty, relying on public support, to protect what has already been won in the building of the state… Nobody should be allowed to divert us from our course toward membership in the EU and NATO, or to secretly put the brakes on it,” Poroshenko remarked.
He added that there are very few ritual pro-European and Euro-Atlantic declarations in Ukraine, and that hard, consistent work is needed in order to make progress toward the EU and NATO.
“This is what I, as a citizen, will demand from the new government, and the way I am willing to back it. Nor will I let things slide if there are deviations from the set course. Any attempts, drastic or gradual, overt or covert, to bring the country back into the sphere of Russian influence will be met with firm resistance,” Ukraine’s 5th president promised.