Letter to editor

Vasyl Bodnar

On Aug. 11, 2014, the Hürriyet Daily News published an article titled “The Ukraine quagmire,” written by Eric S. Margolis.

Our Embassy fully respects freedom of speech and the right to express thoughts via public media. As regular readers of the Hürriyet Daily News we are privileged to a enjoy variety of information, views and opinions on key issues of Turkey’s domestic policy and international agenda.

Unfortunately, the above mentioned article of Mr. Margolis raised a lot of concerns with regard to its substance and style of presentation. The substance of the article, false information, incorrect interpretation of the facts, and fictional scenarios presented by the author are totally unacceptable and do not correspond to reality.

In this regard, we deem it necessary to stress the following:

Ukraine defends its independence and territorial integrity and opposes the “hybrid” aggression of the Russian Federation in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine, initiated by Russia-supported marginal criminals and mercenaries. The direct result of this aggression is that hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians have been killed and wounded, while many living premises, schools and hospitals, roads and bridges have been destroyed.

We believe that soon all atrocities committed by Russian mercenaries and local separatists in Ukraine will be fairly judged by the relevant Ukrainian and international courts. The perpetrators will not escape just punishment.

We are grateful to the international community for political support of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. For the time being, Ukraine is not a member of any military union and the fight against terrorism in Eastern Ukraine is in hands of Ukrainian citizens, the Ukrainian army and not foreign mercenaries. No foreign country supplies lethal military equipment to Ukraine.

We pray for peace in Ukraine and do not want to witness any more war on our territory. Nevertheless, Ukraine is ready to respond adequately to any attempted invasion from abroad, in particularly from our eastern neighbor.

*Mr. Vasyl Bodnar is the Minister-Counsellor at the Ukrainian Embassy in Ankara.