Former Ambassador of Ukraine to the EU Andriy Veselovsky explained that a successful diplomat is one who is able to influence events, who truly protects national interests — and for this, being simply a patriot is not enough, Politeka reports.
He spoke about this on the “7 Steps” channel.
As the program’s guest notes, Ukraine has a law on diplomatic service, but it is rather poorly crafted. In particular, he says, the law states that the diplomatic service is a type of public service of a special nature — but the same can be said about anything, for example, aviation service or work at a power plant; in all those fields the work is also of a special nature. And among the main principles of diplomatic service, the ambassador continues, the law lists patriotism, defending Ukraine’s national interests, protecting human rights and freedoms, etc. — but this, too, can be said about any civil servant.
“Behind this long ten-page text, the main point is hidden — what is the essence of diplomacy? Well-known diplomats and politicians of the past have commented on this. The most famous expression to us is: diplomacy is the art of the possible. So, first of all, diplomacy is an art — and secondly, it is not omnipotent,” Andriy Veselovsky emphasizes.
According to the former ambassador, one should not separate diplomacy in wartime from diplomacy in peacetime — they do not differ in any meaningful way, just as the work of the State Emergency Service does not differ in war and peace. After all, if a building is on fire, it must be extinguished, and each time someone risks their life. In other words, he stresses, the tasks of diplomacy in wartime and peacetime are the same, and the foremost of these is the protection of national interests.
“I wrote down a few qualities that a diplomat must have — and from them the very concept of diplomacy follows. A successful diplomat is one who has influence. First, analytical ability. Second — sociability, the ability to quickly establish relationships and maintain them. And third — integrity, which in Ukrainian can be translated both as honesty and as wholeness,” Andriy Veselovsky concludes.
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