Zelensky makes latest moves against Klimkin, who declares a “political vacation”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sent a letter to
Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman on July 1 requesting that he take
disciplinary measures against Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, the presidential
website said. Zelensky alleges that on June 25, Klimkin neglected to inform the
Presidential Office about a note from the Russian Foreign Ministry on the
arrested 24 Ukrainian sailors, nor did he inform the president of his note in
response. Zelensky also submitted a request to parliament that day to dismiss
Klimkin, the website said.

Klimkin announced on July 1 he will cease to work as
foreign minister as of July 3 and is taking what he characterized as a
“political vacation.” Deputy Foreign Minister Olena Zerkal will assume his
responsibilities, he told the ukranews.com news site in an interview. In explaining
his decision, Klimkin said he had full authority to handle and respond to the
Russian note without the Presidential Office’s involvement. “This note was in
the framework of our communication and our court case at the international
tribunal,” Klimkin said on June 27. It was limited to Ukraine’s legal position
on the matter, without any political moments or new issues, he said. Additional
approval wasn’t necessary given that the foreign minister is authorized to
conduct this matter, he said.

On June 25, the Russian Foreign Ministry sent a note
to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry requesting that the Ukrainian government
offer written guarantees that the 24 detained Ukrainian navy sailors will be
prosecuted on Ukrainian territory in accordance with Russian law. The Ukrainian
Foreign Ministry responded the next day by characterizing the proposal as
cynical, and stressing that they were illegally detained, as determined by a
May 25 decision reached by the United Nations International Tribunal for the
Law of the Sea. In his turn, U.S. Special Envoy Kurt Volker characterized the
proposal as a trap. “Its ‘offer’ was an affront to justice since there was no
basis to detain them in the first place, as well as an affront to the United
Nations and Ukrainian sovereignty,” he tweeted on June 29.

Zenon Zawada: Without
getting mired in who’s right or wrong, it’s clear that Klimkin is hostile to
the Zelensky administration, and remains loyal to former President Poroshenko.
We don’t know whether Klimkin had intentionally wanted to create this conflict.
However, he has already benefitted by promoting himself further in his
political career, especially in distancing himself from Zelensky, the neophyte
that the Poroshenko team is convinced will fail as president. By demonstrating
his opposition at the outset, Klimkin is ensuring that he can’t be accused of
colluding with the Zelensky administration.

This ongoing conflict – between the Zelensky and
Poroshenko teams – also benefits both of their parties – The People’s Servant
and European Solidarity – going into the July 21 parliamentary elections. The
more animosity they create against each other, the more they will motivate
their distinct electoral bases to come to the polls to vote for them. For these
reasons, it’s possible Klimkin was looking for a provocation. Needless to say,
it hurts Zelensky to not have a reliable foreign minister in this critical
period.

Regarding the June 25 note, it’s worth considering
that the Russian Foreign Ministry actually thought the Ukrainians would be
foolish (or inexperienced) enough to take the bait of prosecuting the Ukrainian
sailors. This indicates that the Russians sense that the Zelensky
administration will make large concessions to end the warfare. Indeed the
Russians are dealing with the Zelensky from a position of advantage, while
Zelensky has essentially boxed himself into a corner in making the campaign
promise of doing everything possible to end the warfare. It remains to be seen
to what extent the Zelensky administration will go to achieve peace, but the
comments of Presidential Office Head Andriy Bohdan indicate that it will be
willing to go to great lengths in the form of concessions.