Zelensky’s aide accuses former Ukrainian president of sparking conflict with Russia

KIEV – An adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Alexey Arestovich, said Saturday (19/3/2022) that former President Petro Poroshenko was partly responsible for the ongoing conflict with Russia.

Arestovich blamed Poroshenko’s decision to write NATO’s aspirations into the Ukrainian state constitution as triggering the conflict with Russia.

The clause, which outlines Ukraine’s path to full membership of the European Union (EU) and the US-led NATO alliance, was added to Ukraine’s constitution in February 2019 and shortly before presidential elections.

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“While the move was a purely campaign act by former President Poroshenko, it has long-term consequences,” Arestovich told local media, as reported by RT.com.

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“When Poroshenko introduced this, it was his personal pre-election PR (public relations) technology. He knew beforehand that NATO would never accept us. Not the least of the blame for what is happening now in Ukraine lies with those who adopted and promoted these constitutional provisions,” he said.

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He implied that Ukrainian lawmakers who supported the clause were also to blame.

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