“We are giving an additional argument to sceptics about Ukraine”: expert on the recovery conference in Berlin
14 June 2024 10:28
ЕКСКЛЮЗИВ
The conference on the restoration of Ukraine, which took place in Berlin on 11-12 June, did not use its full potential. This opinion was expressed by political scientist Oleg Saakyan in an exclusive commentary to Komersant ukrainskyi 
.
“We can say that the conference was definitely held with positive results for us. However, the governmental level was represented rather poorly due to the domestic political situation, which affected the foreign policy outline,”
– said the political scientist.
Ukraine sent a delegation to the Berlin Recovery Conference without any relevant officials: Mustafa Nayyem resigned as head of the Recovery Agency the day before, and a month earlier, the Verkhovna Rada dismissed Deputy Prime Minister Kubrakov. At the same time, there was information that it was Nayem’s failure to join the delegation to Berlin that was the final impetus for his dismissal.
Sahakian argues that this situation provides an additional argument for sceptics about Ukraine’s consistency in cooperation with its reconstruction partners, especially for Germany, for which the congress was a landmark event.
At the same time, at the highest political and symbolic level, everything went well with the participation of Chancellor Scholz, President Zelenskyy and representatives of other states.
“Symbolically and politically, the summit was a success,”
– said the political scientist.
At the non-governmental level, Ukraine’s representation was also serious. The conference was attended by representatives of civil society, local government, and a number of Ukrainian cities. The political scientist emphasises that the Ukrainian narrative of war, reconstruction and post-war development dominated in Berlin.
“The conference was definitely beneficial for us, but it revealed all the chronic problems we have,”
– sahakyan concluded.
The International Conference on Ukraine’s Recovery is a continuation of the annual high-level meetings dedicated to the rapid recovery and long-term development of Ukraine after the full-scale Russian invasion. It aims to build on the work of previous conferences and bring together all stakeholders.
The main goal of the Berlin Conference was to consolidate sustainable international support for the restoration, reconstruction, reform and modernisation of Ukraine. This includes emergency assistance, the implementation of reconstruction projects, the creation of favourable conditions for business and investment, and the active engagement of civil society.
The conference was hosted for the first time by a member state of the European Union, Germany, together with Ukraine. Previously, recovery conferences were held in Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
