President Volodymyr Zelensky has chosen Rustem Umerov as Ukraine’s next defense minister. Umerov, a prominent member of the Crimean Tatar ethnic group, has been involved in negotiations with Russia since the beginning of the war.
Zelensky announced his decision on Sunday, stating that Umerov “does not need any additional introductions.”
Despite being a member of an opposition political party, Umerov, 41, has taken on important roles for the government following the Russian invasion last year. He played a key role in negotiating an agreement allowing Ukraine to export grain and was involved in prisoner exchanges.
Umerov, a former investment banker, is a lawmaker with the Holos party, which opposes Zelensky’s Servant of the People party. He represented Ukraine in peace talks with Russian diplomats during the early stages of the war and was among those who reportedly experienced symptoms of poisoning before negotiations in Istanbul in March last year, along with Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.
Since Russia’s illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, the Crimean Tatars have faced persecution. Umerov has made it clear that he stands with Zelensky in refusing to give up any Ukrainian territory to Russia. He stated that the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine and Crimea are “our red lines” and emphasized that they will not abandon their people or land.
For the past year, Umerov has served as the chairman of Ukraine’s State Property Fund, responsible for privatizing state assets. The fund reported its highest proceeds in 10 years, generating $49 million through the auctioning of state property, including the Ust-Dunaisk seaport in the Odesa region during the first half of 2023.
Umerov believes that widespread privatization in Ukraine would be the final blow to communism.
Valerie Hopkins contributed reporting.
2023-09-04 03:43:16
Link from www.nytimes.com
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