The decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine on the application of restrictive measures against certain individuals and legal entities is a tool for the Head of State to fulfill his constitutional duties. This was emphasized by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a press conference.
"I am fulfilling my constitutional duties. And not with a "group of people" - the National Security and Defense Council includes law enforcement officials, the Prime Minister and members of the government, the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada. This is not a dictatorship or a monarchy. Everyone is represented there," he said.
At the same time, Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that not all members of the National Security and Defense Council voted, for example, for sanctions against the assets of MP Viktor Medvedchuk and his wife Oksana Marchenko.
"It's their opinion, their decision. Because at the meetings of the National Security and Defense Council we discuss issues, provide arguments to each other and then vote. This is a joint responsibility," he said.
The President stated that due to such decisions of the National Security and Defense Council, the interests of Ukraine are being protected.
The President also stressed that the format of the National Security and Defense Council makes it possible to make important decisions for the state not unilaterally.
At the meetings of the National Security and Defense Council there is a dialogue between representatives of various branches of government, including the Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine whose institutional independence is supported by Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
"We have no other place to communicate. What kind of dialogue can we have? The NBU is an independent institution. Only when we have to help people, pay businesses 8,000 hryvnias and in other difficult moments, we gather at a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council," the President said.