{"id":96729,"date":"2019-10-11T16:53:05","date_gmt":"2019-10-11T16:53:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/uacrisis.org\/?p=73607"},"modified":"2019-10-15T19:02:59","modified_gmt":"2019-10-15T16:02:59","slug":"73607-zelenskyipressmarathon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/73607-zelenskyipressmarathon","title":{"rendered":"Fourteen hours of talking to press: how Zelenskyi\u2019s press marathon went"},"content":{"rendered":"

What appears to be an unprecedented and record-long \u201cpress marathon\u201d by President Zelenskyi was held in Kyiv on October 10. The President met with the media, the press event lasted about 14 hours with minor breaks. The marathon took place in the trendy Kyiv Food Market \u2013 a recently opened venue that stayed open for visitors on the marathon day. The President was meeting with groups of 7-10 journalists each 30 minutes. He took questions by a total of 300 journalists, many questions were repeated.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Meeting the press at the food market: why this format?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The idea to talk to the press in course of a marathon had several very practical goals. Firstly, it was literally a talk that the President had with the media, not a press conference or a briefing but precisely a talk. The President\u2019s team is convinced that they communicate with the people directly, through social media and that they do it well. At the same time their media communication is quite sporadic and was often a failure in the recent months. The marathon was supposed to tackle precisely this issue.<\/p>\n

The President literally spoke to all the press \u2013 to journalists of the overwhelming majority of media outlets. They were sitting at the table in a small group, he was looking them in the eyes and responded to questions that each of them asked.<\/p>\n

While communicating in small groups Zelenskyi had a chance to establish a positive contact on the personal level.<\/p>\n

In one day he commented on all the widely discussed themes: starting with the Steinmeier formula and disengagement of troops to appointments, oligarchs and Trump. With his \u201cinformation leap\u201d Zelenskyi was in try to correct all the failures that his communication team made in the recent months. Below we cite the President\u2019s quotes on key topics.<\/p>\n

On \u201cSteinmeier formula\u201d, Normandy-format meeting and situation in Donbas<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be incorrect to say that the Steinmeier formula has been implemented. The formula comes in force when the Law on the special status comes in force.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt makes no sense discussing the Law on the special status now. This law does not yet exist. There are \u2018red lines\u2019 that we can discuss. They are no different from the general \u2018red lines\u2019 of the \u2018Normandy format\u2019 and of the \u2018Normandy process\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess there is a chance that the Russian side is also tired of this process. I think everyone understands that Ukraine will never give up its territory and will never give up its independence.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI would not want that the conflict in Donbas is frozen, I would not want us to have our Transnistria or Abkhazia. I cannot give you a 100 per cent guarantee that it will not happen, because that\u2019s the way it is now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we shall get the date of the Normandy format<\/a>\u00a0set next week. I think it will be the date this year, in November.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that there are humanitarian issues, the language issue will be also discussed \u2013 so that they (Donbas \u2013 edit.) get the status of the Russian language as regional. I think there are many humanitarian compromises that we can discuss.\u201d<\/p>\n

On negotiations with Russia<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you want it to be a poker game and (that) they know my cards? We sit at the same table, do I have to have some strategy? Or do you want everyone to know where we have our troops (stationed), when we leave and where we withdraw them? I need to have advantages, if I completely reveal our plans, it is (going to be) a defeat.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am not ready to release my conversations with Putin<\/a>. I have not even released by conversations with Mr. Trump. I am the commander-in-chief not a TV host at some channel.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a swap. All telephone calls to Putin were made by me. It won\u2019t hurt my dignity, I truly want to end this war. So I consider these were the first steps on our side (towards them).\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth sides must want to end the war. Both sides must want to sit down in this or that format, to meet up and start talking, to change their rhetoric, to stop saying: \u2018We don\u2019t have (our troops) there. It is your internal conflict, resolve it on your own\u2019 etc.\u201d<\/p>\n

On protests on Maidan \u201cagainst capitulation\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAs to Maidan, I am not afraid of it. In any moment, in any second, if the society does not want my team to carry on and me to be the President\u2026 Look, there will be no bloodshed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI agree that communication (with war veterans \u2013 edit.) is weak. I know that many people are being \u2018heated up\u2019<\/a>, they reasonably did not understand about Steinmeier and so on. They did not understand, did not know but they are being \u2018heated up\u2019 and we know who is \u2018heating them up\u2019, stirring the people with their media and their actions.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Putin and prisoner swap<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIf the Normandy format is continuously postponed, we will then be finding new formats to bring our people back. One of them is Minsk, another one that has worked out is my direct talks with the President of the Russian Federation. To return people, I am ready for direct talks.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the Trump scandal and Ukraine-US relations<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cThe call (by Trump to Zelenskyi in July 2019 \u2013 edit.) influenced this one thing: I understood that we need to get the meeting, that I wanted to introduce him to our team. I wanted to convince him to come to Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis call has nothing to do with the Burisma story.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to meddle into the US election in any way and I will not do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to strengthen our relations with the US. We had a meeting with key US people, with the President of the United States. We are waiting for an official visit to the United States.\u201d
\n\u201cI don\u2019t want to comment on what is happening in the domestic politics (of the US \u2013 edit.). I see no changes towards us in (their) foreign policy\u2026 If there are changes, we will learn about them from Twitter.\u201d<\/p>\n

On how the \u201cServant of the People\u201d is doing in the Parliament<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThey owe their victory to me, to the support that my surname has in the society. I don\u2019t want to wreck the party, they know my attitude. If they start eating each other, I will dissolve them in one year. It\u2019s a fact.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2019Servants of the People\u2019 are afraid of any draft laws that concern the MPs. There are experienced parliamentarians \u2013 members of other parties, all they do each day is they exercise pressure: emotional, with money or any other type\u2026 They are trying to split the \u2018Servant of the People\u2019 party.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Privatbank and Kolomoyskyi<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen meeting our partners I asked: \u2018Do you want me to influence Privatbank?\u2019 They said: \u2018No, as the President you\u2019d better not. Don\u2019t you influence it but also do influence it as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll see the outcome (of the Privatbank trial \u2013 edit.). If the result will make it necessary for me to protect our country, I will be protecting it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cKolomoyskyi knows my position on Privatbank<\/a>, it is a state position, (he knows) that I will be protecting Ukraine, protecting the state, he knows it.\u201d<\/p>\n

On early change of Central Election Commission members<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know these people. We said that we would reload all agencies. I don\u2019t want (the situation when) someone (ex-President \u2013 edit.) left and everything stayed.\u201d<\/p>\n

On dismissal of the National Security and Defense Council Head Danyliuk<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI disagree with his position, that he left because of Privatbank\u2026 By the way, Sasha (Oleksandr) wanted to be the Prime Minister. I told him honestly: \u2018San\u2019 (Oleksandr), you are a professional but I chose another candidate. Complicated relations with Bohdan (Head of the Presidential Office \u2013 edit.) also contributed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\n\t\t\"\"\t\t\n\t\t\tView Gallery<\/span>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t3 images\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/a>\n<\/figure>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What appears to be an unprecedented and record-long \u201cpress marathon\u201d by President Zelenskyi was held in Kyiv on October 10. The President met with the media, the press event lasted about 14 hours with minor breaks. The marathon took place in the trendy Kyiv Food Market \u2013 a recently opened venue that stayed open for […] More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":96730,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[705,748],"tags":[],"section":[743],"form":[],"yoast_head":"\nFourteen hours of talking to press: how Zelenskyi\u2019s press marathon went | UACRISIS.ORG<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What appears to be an unprecedented and record-long \u201cpress marathon\u201d by President Zelenskyi was held in Kyiv on October 10. 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