During his official visit to the Republic of Slovenia, the Ukrainian head of state and the president of Slovenia took part in the unveiling of a monument to Hryhorii Skovoroda in one of the central parks of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, the presidential website reports.
“Our friendship must have certain visible signs. I really like the Ljubljana municipality’s idea to create an alley of cultural figures. However, what good would it be without Ukraine’s representatives? And who can represent Ukraine best? Obviously, it is Taras Shevchenko and Hryhorii Skovoroda,” Poroshenko said during the unveiling ceremony. The president noted that Skovoroda, being a wandering philosopher, “carried the spirit of Ukrainian Europeanness with him.”
Very importantly, the president finally mentioned another telling event that took place in the aggressor’s capital in early November. According to the Ukrainian head of state, another monument was unveiled lately, one to Equal to the Apostles Prince Volodymyr of Kyiv which now stands in Moscow next to Vladimir Lenin’s unburied body. “This is another overt hybrid attempt at appropriation of history,” he said.
Poroshenko stressed as well that the unveiling of the monument to Skovoroda in Ljubljana was fundamentally different: “This symbolic monument stands for sincerity and friendship which characterize relations between Ukraine and Slovenia.”
The president thanked the sculptor and all who had contributed to the construction of the monument. He expressed confidence that it would be a very symbolic location, a symbol of friendship between our peoples.
