A separate department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be created for Russia and its henchmen – Sybiha
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will have a Department of Unfriendly Countries to counter threats from Russia and its allies. These and other structural innovations were announced by Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha.
"[The governance of unfriendly countries] will include not only Russia, but also its allies, such as North Korea or Belarus. This is not about bilateral relations, but about countering threats. Ukraine is defending itself against full-scale aggression, and our policy should prioritize neutralizing threats. This department will be supervised by the first deputy [minister]," the foreign minister said .
At the same time, Sybiha added, the Department of International Law and International Legal Counteraction to Aggression will be engaged, among other things, in bringing Moscow and the occupiers to justice for the atrocities committed.
Meanwhile, the department that covered integration into both NATO and the European Union will be divided into two units: there will be a separate department for the Alliance and a separate department for the EU.
According to the minister, the department will work on Ukraine's direct accession to the EU, and the department "will give a new impetus to our integration on the way to full membership in the Alliance.".
The Department of International Security and Defense of Ukraine was created instead of the Department of Disarmament that existed before. In this regard, Sybiha noted that "Ukraine will never disarm again.".
A separate sanctions policy department is also being introduced. The Foreign Minister said that the issue of such restrictions was "scattered" among different departments, and the creation of a separate unit will allow "consolidating processes and increasing the efficiency of sanctions work.".
The Department of Economic Diplomacy will now be in charge of attracting international support for Ukraine's recovery, not just opening new markets and promoting domestic exporters and attracting investment.
The Department of Global Ukrainians and Humanitarian Cooperation is being created to replace the Department for Ukrainians Abroad. The minister called it "evidence of the important role and priority of developing ties and interaction with the global Ukrainian community." Earlier, an interlocutor of LIGA.net in the Servant of the People faction reported plans to liquidate the Ministry of National Unity, which is supposed to take care of Ukrainian citizens in other countries and their return to their homeland.
Among other innovations, the Office of the United States and Canada was separated from the Department of Latin America and the Caribbean, as it is a separate area of work that cannot be "mixed" with Latin American affairs, Sybiha said.
The updated structure of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was approved by the Ministry's Board on July 7. According to the head of the ministry, the new structure of the Ministry "corresponds to the realities of war and the best European and world diplomatic practices.".
- On July 7 Foreign Ministry spokesperson calls on Western partners to immediately impose tough new sanctions against Russia after another statement by Kremlin diplomat Lavrov on the need to "denazify and demilitarize" Ukraine.