President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasizes that his meetings with representatives of big business should be public, as their main consequence is political responsibility. The Head of State said this during a press conference in the Lviv region.
When he was asked what responsibility the President would bear for non-public meetings with the so-called oligarchs, as the new anti-oligarchic law provides for penalties for failure to report such meetings only to officials and managers of state-owned companies, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said: “I bear the greatest responsibility for such meetings. That's why I'm interested in them being public. I bear a political responsibility. It will hit the President, the Office of the President, the rating of the government and then the rating of the party, because the rating of the Servant of the People party depends strongly on the rating of President Zelenskyy".
The Head of State stressed that he was interested in meeting with representatives of big business to solve national problems, in particular, to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, according to him, if Ukraine wins the right to host the Winter Olympics, big business will be able to join the development of sports infrastructure. But such meetings must be public.
The President also noted that the Servant of the People faction in the Verkhovna Rada is a kind of wall that protects the parliament from the influence of financial groups.
"I am now strengthening this "wall" with such legislative initiatives as the law on oligarchs. I defend the statehood of our country - the people gave me this opportunity," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
