"I don't want to speculate on anything. I will be frank with you: no one has spoken to me about anything. So all of this is just rumors – what we see and read in the press, and I wouldn't even want to comment on them," he said in response to a question about the possible search for a replacement for Markarova and the diplomat's own desire to work in Washington.
Melnik, who previously served as Ukraine's ambassador to Germany and criticized his successor Alexey Makeev, noted that Markarova was tasked with "one of the most challenging, without exaggeration, diplomatic missions in modern history."
"And it seems to me that she managed it. She did everything possible and impossible to ensure that the Americans remained on our side, despite all the difficulties we all remember – both in Congress and the various delays. Now, obviously, there will be some new decisions and changes. But I wouldn't even want to comment on them, because this issue, at least for me, has not been addressed in any capacity," he added.