Poroshenko's Lawsuit Against BBC To Have No Effect On Kiev's Reputation - Foreign Ministry

KIEV (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st September, 2018) Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's lawsuit against the United Kingdom's BBC broadcaster over a publication claiming he had secretly paid at least $400,000 for a meeting with US President Donald Trump, will not threaten the country's image, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said.

On Wednesday, The Telegraph newspaper reported, citing a relevant document, that Poroshenko filed a lawsuit with a UK court against BBC over an article about the Poroshenko-Trump meeting in Washington in June 2017. In the lawsuit, the Ukrainian president's legal team rejected these media statements and said that Poroshenko "has been seriously injured in his reputation and has been caused substantial distress and embarrassment."

"There are of course no threats to Ukraine's [image].

The BBC, as a rule, adheres to relevant standards. In this case, if I'm not mistaken, it was an article published a few months ago. The BBC has a lot of experience in working in courts, so let's wait for the result," Klimkin said in the air of 1+1 tv channel, asked whether the BBC publication would present any threats to Ukraine's image.

In May, the BBC reported that Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen received a payment from Kiev to arrange talks between Trump and Poroshenko. The Ukrainian leader wanted to be seen holding talks with Trump, a goal which could not have been achieved by registered Ukrainian lobbyists. Cohen was reached with the help of two Ukrainian officials, and was paid $400,000 to arrange the meeting, a source told the broadcaster.