Presidential candidate and incumbent head of state Petro Poroshenko will come to the official debate to the Public Broadcaster's studio on April 19, and, if he has enough time, will also visit the Olimpiyskiy Stadium, where his opponent Volodymyr Zelensky offered to hold a debate, according to Poroshenko Campaign spokesman Oleh Medvedev.
“The president will take part in the debate on April 19 because the law requires that he do so. The law doesn't say he must come to a stadium. The norm of the law provides for participation in debates on "Public TV". And the requirement of the law is a priority. It is possible that Poroshenko on April 19 will be able to make it to the Olimpiyskiy Stadium, but only at the time when he is free from the duties that the law on presidential elections imposes on him as the presidential candidate,” the spokesman told a Kyiv briefing on Monday, according to an UNIAN correspondent.
Read alsoPoroshenko waiting for Zelensky to debate on April 14 and 19 – president's envoy
According to Medvedev, Poroshenko is “quite flexible” about the format of the debate, but it's not for the sake of his rival.
At the same time, he added that Poroshenko’s proposal to hold the first debate with Zelensky at the Olympiyskiy Stadium in Kyiv April 14 remains in force.
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, in turn, said he was waiting for Zelensky at the Olimpiyskiy Stadium April 14.
Zelensky noted that the debate would be held at the stadium April 19.
After that, Poroshenko's parliament faction leader Artur Herasimov said the incumbent president was ready for any date, including April 19, as Zelensky had offered.
