The debates are to behold on the Olympic stadium in Kiev (NSC Olimpiyskiy), while Zelensky set Poroshenko a number of conditions.
Presidential candidate showman Volodymyr Zelensky recorded an appeal in which he confirmed his readiness to debate with the current president, Petro Poroshenko.
Appeal published in the official group of “Team Zelensky” on Facebook.
“I appeal to Petro Poroshenko. You call me to the debate. You dreamed that I would run away, I would get talk my way out of it, hide. No. I am not you in 2014 (then Poroshenko did not participate in debates with Yulia Tymoshenko – ed.),” Zelensky said, voicing a number of conditions.
“I am waiting for you here at the NSC Olimpiyskiy. The debate will take place before the people of Ukraine. All channels have the right to broadcast debates live, all journalists have the right to be present. Candidates must pass an examination and prove to the people that there are no alcoholics or drug addicts among them. The country needs a healthy president,” said Zelensky.
He also wants, as a sign of respect for one-third of the citizens of Ukraine, for Poroshenko to publicly say that “the debate will not be held with the puppet of the Kremlin or Kolomoisky, not with a vatnik, not with a small one, not with cattle, not with a clown, but with presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelensky “.
“I give you 24 hours. Think,” said Zelensky.
This morning, April 4, Petro Poroshenko said that “debates can be held on the basis of Public Television with broadcast on all TV channels,” but he is ready to hold a debate with Volodymyr Zelensky at the NSC Olimpiysky.
Video message to Zelensky by Poroshenko was made public on Twitter.
“Volodymyr Alexandrovich. I am glad that you, though somewhat uncertainly, accepted the invitation to hold a debate. You and I are very different. The main difference is that the arrows of our geopolitical compasses point in diametrically opposite directions of the world.
According to him, the debates are not made for the spectacle at the stadium.
“Debate is a serious discussion about a country’s development strategy, about values, about a historical vector, about priorities, a country does not just choose, it trusts its fate,” the current President said.
“The rules of the debates are spelled out in the law on presidential elections, read them please. They can be held on the basis of Public Television with broadcasts on all television channels for tens of millions of people. These are already filled with the rules. But if you want the stadium, so be the stadium. I am waiting for you, Volodymyr Alexandrovich, ” Poroshenko stressed.
Правила дебатів прописані в законі про вибори Президента, почитайте будь ласка. Вони можуть відбуватися на базі Суспільного телебачення з трансляцією по всіх телеканалах для десятків мільйонів людей.
Але стадіон, так стадіон.
Я чекаю на Вас, Володимире Олександровичу. pic.twitter.com/O0e9AInEO5
— Петро Порошенко (@poroshenko) April 4, 2019