Presidential candidate and incumbent President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko says that ahead of the election runoff, he would like to participate in three-stage public debates with his rival Volodymyr Zelensky.
"I firmly believe that he [Zelensky] will have the courage to arrive here [Kyiv's NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium], and the debates will take place, especially since this is a requirement of the Ukrainian law," he said on April 5, having passed the relevant tests on psychoactive substances at the Olimpiyskiy health center.
Poroshenko believes it would be best if debates were held in several stages: on the candidates' position regarding their key powers as supreme commander and the program to strengthen defense and security; on foreign policy; and on protection of Ukrainian citizens' constitutional rights and freedoms.
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As UNIAN reported earlier, on April 3, Zelensky declared his readiness to come to the debate with Poroshenko ahead of the runoff, however, he voiced a number of conditions. In particular, he said, the debates should be held at the Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kyiv, "before the people of Ukraine", and with all TV channels being able to air the event live, while both candidates must undergo a medical exam and prove to the people that there are "no alcoholics or drug addicts" among them.
Poroshenko agreed to hold the debate with Zelensky at the stadium.
On April 4, speaker of the election headquarters of incumbent Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, Oleh Medvedev, said that Poroshenko had invited Zelensky at the Olimpiyskiy health center to pass the relevant tests.
In turn, Zelensky's headquarters rejected a proposal to take a blood test at the health center and announced he would come to a private lab.
On Friday morning, April 5, Zelensky passed blood tests at a private clinic Eurolab.
Presidential candidate Petro Poroshenko passed the relevant tests at the Olimpiyskiy health center.
