Poroshenko Undeserving Of Verona Honorary Citizenship - Regional Official

ROME (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st September, 2018) Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko does not deserve to be named honorary citizen of the Italian city of Verona, the chair of Association Veneto-Russia, a member of the regional council and an author of the initiative to strip Poroshenko of this honor, told Sputnik on Friday.

Poroshenko was awarded this honor in May 2016 in response to Ukraine returning 17 paintings that had been stolen from the museum of Castelvecchio. However, on Thursday, the city council decided to strip Poroshenko of the citizenship.

"The recall was a measure of justice regarding a persona who is at the very least contradictory, who did not deserve honorary citizenship of Verona, one of the most beautiful and important cities of Italy," Luciano Sandona told Sputnik.

The decision of the council was backed by 30 votes for and opposed by three against. It entered force immediately.

Sandona stressed that the honorary citizenship for Poroshenko was the initiative of former mayor.

According to local media reports, the then-mayor often met Ukrainian ambassador to Italy at the time, who openly disagreed with the stance of the council of the Veneto region, where Verona is located, on Crimea.

The regional parliament adopted a resolution urging Rome to revise its policy on the peninsula and anti-Russian sanctions.

Crimea rejoined Russia in 2014, after a referendum. Kiev still considers it part of Ukraine, and both the peninsula and Russia were targeted by EU sanctions, although Moscow has repeatedly stressed that the vote was carried out in accordance with the international legal framework.

The chair of the association added that the Ukrainian authorities had held the paintings from Verona's museum for several months for no apparent reason before returning them.

"The paintings were damaged during the theft and they were threatened by humidity and climate. The behavior [of the Ukrainian authorities] was shameful," Sandona said.

The paintings were stolen from the museum in November 2015. In the spring of 2016, nine Moldovan citizens and three Italians were detained. In May 2016, the paintings were seized as they were being prepared for a transfer to Moldova. They were shown at a special exhibition in Kiev and then returned to Verona.