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Ukrainian presidential candidate Zelensky ignored invitation to Yalta forum

Organizing committee member Andrei Nazarov noted that some Ukrainians participate in the forum, as many of them have businesses, property in Crimea, however, try not to advertise their participation

YALTA, April 18. /TASS/. The organizers of the fifth Yalta International Economic Forum had invited Vladimir Zelensky, a Ukrainian presidential candidate, to attend the event, however, they received no response, member of the forum’s organizing committee Andrei Nazarov informed TASS on Thursday.

"We have officially invited the Ukrainian delegation, we wanted them to come and have a conversation, but they decided not to risk it. We also invited Zelensky, so that he could participate in the discussion, he wanted to hold debates," Nazarov said on the sidelines of the forum. "There was no response. Either he ignored it, or decided that his silence speaks for itself."

He noted that some Ukrainian citizens participate in the forum, as many of them have businesses and property in Crimea. However, they try not to advertise their participation.

The fifth Yalta International Economic Forum, dubbed "World. Russia. Crimea. New World Reality," is taking place in the Crimean city of Yalta on April 17-20. TASS is the forum’s general information partner and official photohost agency.

The runoff of Ukraine’s presidential elections is scheduled for April 21 and will feature Vladimir Zelensky going up against incumbent President Pyotr Poroshenko The first round took place on March 31 and saw Zelensky receiving 30.24% of the votes, almost twice as much as Poroshenko, who got 15.95%.