GENEVA, July 31. /TASS/. The United States and Britain have endorsed Ukraine’s former Commander-in-Chief and current Ukrainian Ambassador to London Valeriy Zaluzhny as a possible future president of Ukraine, viewing him as less corrupt and less polarizing than Vladimir Zelensky, Secretary of the Geneva International Peace Research Institute (GIPRI) and lecturer at the Swiss UMEF Institute of Applied Sciences, Hicheme Lehmici, told TASS.
According to Lehmici, Zaluzhny has never taken a hardline stance on cultural issues and has not openly rejected Ukraine’s cultural diversity, which includes a significant Russian-speaking population. "Among all Ukrainian politicians, Zaluzhny is the only one who enjoys at least some popularity and is not perceived by the public as corrupt, in contrast to all other Ukrainian politicians," Lehmici explained. Thus, Zaluzhny "represents a figure far less divisive than Zelensky," the expert concluded.
Earlier, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) reported that the United States and the United Kingdom decided to nominate Ukraine’s former Commander-in-Chief Valery Zaluzhny for president at a secret meeting in the Alps. According to the Russian intelligence agency, the agreement sheds light on the underlying cause of the recent scandalous attempt by Zelensky to restrict the powers of the local anti-corruption mechanisms. The SVR also noted that the decision "became the main condition for ‘resetting’ Kiev’s relations with the Western partners, primarily Washington, and for a continuation of the Western aid to Ukraine in its confrontation with Russia.".