The International Democratic Union (IDU) calls on the Ukrainian authorities to allow the departure of the fifth President, the leader of the “European Solidarity” party, Petro Poroshenko, to participate in the IDU Forum in Washington.
“The International Democratic Union is confused by the fact that Petro Poroshenko was denied permission to leave Ukraine to attend the IDU-2023 Forum. We urge the Ukrainian authorities to allow his departure, as it is extremely important for decision-makers to get first-hand information about the war and support the country under attack,” the IDU page on the X network says.
The travel ban for Poroshenko at the Atlantic Council was also called complete nonsense. Melinda Hering, editor of the Atlantic Council’s UkraineAlert column and senior researcher at the Institute for International Policy Studies, called on President Zelensky and Speaker Stefanchuk to stop playing political games.
“Complete nonsense. President Zelensky’s team is playing games. We see what you’re doing. Ze-Team prohibited Poroshenko from leaving Ukraine due to the fact that his business trip was canceled. Many were waiting for him in Washington. Healthy democracies respect their opposition politicians,” she wrote on the X network.
“President Zelensky, Stefanchuk, what you are doing is short-sighted. They can defend Ukraine in a way that you cannot. Ukraine’s diversity is its strength. We want to hear from others, such as Petro Poroshenko, Kira Rudyk, Honcharenko, Andrii Osadchuk,” the American expert writes.
The fifth President, leader of the “European Solidarity” party Petro Poroshenko has been invited as one of the key speakers at the Summit of the International Democratic Union in Washington (USA).
Petro Poroshenko is scheduled to speak at the Summit on the topic of geopolitical changes in the world and the need to strengthen transatlantic unity in support of Ukraine.
In addition, in Washington, the fifth President will hold a series of meetings with members of both parties of the US Congress, where he will discuss the strengthening of American financial and military assistance to Ukraine. Meetings with representatives of the US State Department, the leadership of the European Commission and the Chairman of the Conservative Party of Great Britain are also planned.
Petro Poroshenko also planned to visit Warsaw for meetings with the leadership of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Polish Sejm, representatives of Polish political and expert circles, where he was to discuss strengthening Poland’s support for Ukraine in repelling Russian aggression, as well as in our country’s acquisition of EU and NATO membership. One of the topics during Poroshenko’s meetings in Warsaw is ending the transport blockade on the border with Ukraine.
The International Democratic Union (IDU) is a global association of center-right political forces from 65 countries. The founders of the IDU were the Prime Minister of Great Britain Margaret Thatcher, the then Vice President of the USA George Bush, the Mayor of Paris and later the President of France Jacques Chirac, the Chancellor of Germany Helmut Kohl and many other party leaders.
Among the member parties: Republican Party (USA), Christian Democratic Union (Germany), Conservative Party (Great Britain). The head of the organization is the former Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper. The “European Solidarity” party received Observer Member status in the International Democrat Union in July 2020.
In December last year in Washington at the International Democratic Union Forum, Petro Poroshenko received the Bush-Thatcher IDU Freedom Award. In his speech, Poroshenko thanked the people of Ukraine for their courage and called on Western partners to provide more weapons for the Armed Forces – in particular, Patriot air defense systems, jet fighters, F-16s, tanks, Abrams.
According to the results of the Forum, a Resolution in support of Ukraine was also approved.
In September 2023, Petro Poroshenko became a member of the Honorary Advisory Council of the International Democratic Union.