Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament of Ukraine) Ruslan Stefanchuk responded on Tuesday to the reprimands of the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin regarding the legitimacy of the head of state of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, reports UNIAN.
"It is very good that people in Russia have started reading the Constitution of Ukraine. I would recommend inquisitive readers to study the text of our Constitution not selectively, but to pay attention to part 1 of Article 108: "The President of Ukraine exercises his powers until the newly elected President of Ukraine takes office." In democratic societies this is called succession of power. ", he wrote on "Facebook".
Stefanchuk emphasized that Zelensky is and will remain the president of Ukraine until the end of martial law - in accordance with the Constitution and laws of Ukraine.
According to him, Russia's statements are "as predictable as they are meaningless".
"The only thing that is confusing is that some "Ukrainian" "politicians, as if preparing the ground, quote the narratives expressed almost word for word, in particular within the walls of the Ukrainian parliament," the official noted.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada also advised Russia, in addition to the Constitution of Ukraine, to start reading its own "Constitution".
"We are not talking about any principles of a democratic system or rights of man and citizen, which are illusory for Russia, but at least in the part where it is said that the Russian Federation takes measures to maintain and strengthen international peace and security. Ensure the peaceful coexistence of states and peoples so that it does not roll over much, this is Article 79.1", he summarized.
We remind you that for the second time in the last 10 days, Vladimir Putin questioned the legitimacy of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Answering questions from journalists before flying to Moscow from Uzbekistan, Putin said that "according to a preliminary assessment, the only legitimate authority in Ukraine remains the parliament and the chairman of the Rada"
Putin and other Russian officials say Zelensky's term ended on May 20, five years after he took office. On May 24, Putin declared that the powers of the Ukrainian president had "ended".
However, the Ukrainian constitution expressly prohibits holding presidential elections during martial law. It also contains a provision that the current president retains his powers until the inauguration of the next head of state.
The Ukrainian authorities said that Russia is trying in every way to "question the legitimacy of government decisions taken in Ukraine after May 20, to spread panic", as well as to spread all kinds of "conspiracy theories". in society.