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Zelensky dismisses ambassador to UK for criticizing him

Vadim Pristaiko was also dismissed from the position of Ukraine's permanent representative to the International Maritime Organization

Вадим Пристайко EPA-EFE/ MARTIN DIVISEK

Вадим Пристайко

© EPA-EFE/ MARTIN DIVISEK

MOSCOW, July 21. /TASS/. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has dismissed the country’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, Vadim Pristaiko, after he described Zelensky’s response to UK Secretary of State for Defense Ben Wallace as "a little bit of sarcasm."

"To dismiss Vadim Pristaiko from the position of Ukraine’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and from the position of Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to the International Maritime Organization," said a presidential decree posted on the presidential website on Friday.

The British official said on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Vilnius on June 12 that Western countries wanted Kiev to be more grateful for the military aid supplied by its allies instead of being critical that Ukraine is not being let into the alliance under an accelerated procedure. In response Zelensky said he did not know what else could be done to show gratitude and suggested that the British defense secretary tell him how to do this.

In an interview with the Sky News television channel, Prostaiko said that he did not think that "this sarcasm was healthy" and that Ukraine and Great Britain "don't have to show the Russians that we have something between us." He said that the British official should call him if any problems arise.

Pristaiko was appointed Ukraine’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom on July 20, 2020. Prior to his appointment, he was Ukraine’s foreign minister from August 29, 2019 to March 4, 2020.

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