Georgia’s Zurabishvili Attends Inauguration of Ukrainian President

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili attended the inauguration ceremony of the new President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky. 

Zurabishvili attended the solemn session of the Verkhovna Rada in Kyiv, where the newly-elected President Zelensky took the Oath of Office to the Ukrainian people.
Moreover, the president, together with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Georgia to Ukraine Gela Dumbadze, attended the welcome ceremony at the Mariyinsky Palace dedicated to the solemn event of taking office by the newly-elected Ukrainian President.

Zelensky, a comedian-turned-president, won the second round of the elections in Ukraine on April 21, where he received over 73% of support among the decided voters while current President Petro Poroshenko received 24%.

The first round of the presidential election took place on March 31 among 39 candidates, a record number. Of those who voted, Poroshenko got 15.95% of support while Zelenskiy – 30.24%.

During the inauguration ceremony, Zelensky said his first task to achieve is a ceasefire in Donbas.

"I'm convinced that for this dialogue to start, we must see the return of all Ukrainian prisoners,” he added.

Moreover, Zelensky asked all the officials to end the tradition of having the president’s photo in all public offices.

“A president is not an icon,” he said. “Don’t put up my portrait. Put up photos of your children instead. And look them in the eyes before every decision you make.”

By Thea Morrison