On April 26, 2022, ECFA received Mr. Ruslan Nechai, Chargé d’Affaires of the Ukrainian Embassy in Cairo, at his request, with the aim of informing ECFA members of his country’s position on what is happening on the Ukrainian territories. In this regard, the Chargé d’Affaires presented his country’s well-known position on the crisis, speaking in Arabic, indicating several points, including that Russia had been planning to invade his country for a long time, given Ukraine’s endeavor to adopt an independent foreign policy that takes into account the interests of the Ukrainian people, and respects its choices, while he stated that Russia believed that its military operation would be for a few days, with which the regime in Kiev would fall, and the Ukrainian state would collapse, and it would accept the Russian conditions, but Putin’s strategic calculations were wrong, as the war entered its third month, and there are many volunteers who are fighting along with the Ukrainian people. He also noted that his country appreciates the support it receives from NATO states, which will help it to stand firm and achieve gains on the ground that would strengthen its negotiating position, when the time comes for that, and that he believes that the support currently provided is satisfactory.

In a related context, and in response to an inquiry by a member of the Council about Ukraine’s neutrality, the Chargé d’Affaires indicated that they would not accept this neutrality unless it was imposed on them within a comprehensive settlement, adding that his country’s choice is to join NATO as stipulated in the Ukrainian constitution. The guest also noted the Budapest Memorandum signed in 1994, explaining that it is nothing more than a non-binding document that has not been ratified by the parliaments of the concerned states, and that Russia, as one of the guarantors of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, has violated its obligations under the memorandum, and therefore Kiev does not find it useful to respect the obligations under this memorandum.

On the other hand, the guest praised the cooperation between Egypt and Ukraine regarding the evacuation of Ukrainians after the declaration of war on February 24, while stressing that Russia has already become a “pariah” state, and that it will be difficult for Egypt to deal with this country now, and that they expect a “stronger Egyptian position officially condemning Russia,” especially since the sanctions against it have a great impact on Egypt, whether in terms of tourism or its wheat imports. In this context, the elements of the Egyptian position were clarified, as reflected in the statement explaining the voting pattern of the United Nations General Assembly Resolution on March 2, regarding the condemnation of the Russian military intervention in Ukraine, especially the emphasis on the principle of respect for the territorial integrity and political independence of all states. It was also stressed the necessity of abandoning the double standards approach, in terms of providing Western political and military support to Ukraine, while completely ignoring the fact that there is no longer racist settler colonialism in today’s world except in our region in Palestine, in the absence of any Western American position giving the impression that there is a kind of equality and consistency in treatment.