Ukraine isn’t considered a great cultural nation by other countries in Europe, and therefore its interests continue to be ignored, Kiev’s ambassador in Berlin has bemoaned.
In a Tuesday interview with Ukrainian state news agency Ukrinform, Andrey Melnik claimed his nation’s biggest problem is that it has little cultural status on the world stage.
“I think that our main shortcoming over the past 30 years is that we still haven’t managed to assert ourselves as a great cultural European nation, an influential historical subject,” the ambassador explained. “And this is what our political recognition depends on, to a large degree.”
He went on to illustrate what he meant, saying that “masterpieces by Ukrainian composers” are not performed regularly in German opera halls, and schoolkids there are not taught Ukrainian literature. All of Kiev’s “reasonable political requests” will continue to be ignored while this is the case, Melnik claimed.
The diplomat emphasized that he and other representatives from Kiev continue to work to attract the attention of European leaders, asserting that German elites, journalists, and experts need to “know that Ukraine exists, with its own goals, resolutely forging its own path.”