EU reps attend Putin's "inauguration" due to economic interests – Ukraine Foreign Policy Head

The leaders of the EU countries who are sending their representatives to Putin's "inauguration" are putting their economic interests ahead of European values and principles, said Oleksandr Merezhko, chairman of the Foreign Policy Committee, in a commentary for LIGA.net.

He noted that these leaders want to gain something from the aggressor state of Russia, without considering how their country will look "in the eyes of history."

"It looks shameful. A truly democratic country that values the rule of law cannot send its representative to the 'inauguration' of a bloody dictator who is a war criminal and commits genocide," Merezhko said.

Today, Radio Svoboda published a list of countries whose representatives were expected to attend the "inauguration" of the Russian dictator. France, Greece, Cyprus, Malta, Hungary, and Slovakia were among the EU member states on the list.

Read also: No US representative at Putin's "inauguration", but will recognize him as president