The administration of US President Joseph Biden has decided not to invite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Washington. The reason was the replacement of the Naftogaz management, Axios reports.
According to the sources of the publication, the White House was considering inviting Zelenskyy to Washington before Biden’s summit with Putin in Geneva. But after the change of the NJSC management Washington abandoned this idea.
The White House expressed "concern" and stated that the replacement of the head of the Naftogaz Board meant Zelenskyy's refusal to combat corruption.
Context. On May 28, the Cabinet of Ministers dismissed Andriy Kobolev, who had headed the company since 2015, from the post of Head of Naftogaz. His post was taken by the former Executive Director of the company, at that time Acting Minister of Energy—Yuriy Vitrenko. The dismissal of Kobolev was justified by the large losses that the NJSC incurred in 2020.
The Supervisory Board of Naftogaz refused to work with the new Head of the Board and resigned almost entirely.
In the USA and the G7, Kobolev's dismissal was met harshly and with hostility. The NJSC itself called the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers "legal manipulation". And Kobolev stated that had found out about his resignation from the news.
The Biden-Putin summit is scheduled for June 16, 2021 in Geneva. Among the issues for discussion—Ukraine, Belarus, problems of global security, and the situation with Nord Stream 2.
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