By Nathaniel Nartey
The Government of Ghana has accepted the goodwill message from Russian President Vladimir Putin on the occasion of the country’s 65th Independence Day Celebrations. This is despite Ghana’s condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Ghana has declared its opposition against Russia’s action in solidarity with Ukraine, and voted in that regard in the UN Security Council meeting where the World governing body took a similar position on the matter.
Government Spokesperson on Governance and Security, Palgrave Boakye-Danquah said Ghana accepted the message of goodwill from Mr. Putin because it relates to her independence.
He said this at the Kotoka International Airport March 7, 2022 when he led a delegation from government to welcome the 6th batch of returnees from Ukraine.The CEO of the Mental Health Authority, Akwasi Osei joined government delegation for the first time at the Kotoka International Airport to welcome the 6th batch of returnees from Romania.
All 54 returnees arrived on board Qatar Airways after successfully crossing the border to Romania.
The latest returnees bring the number of Ghanaian students so far evacuated from Ukraine to 150.Dr. Akwasi Osei had a brief counselling session with the returnees upon arrival at the airport.“We want to assure you that once you have come and we are giving you this initial support, be rest assured that will continue”.Unlike previous batches where the returnees were mostly in tears when they arrived home, the latest group showed little signs of emotions as some brought their Television sets and other home appliances included in their luggage, an indication that they had time to pack belongings before departure.
Government Spokesperson on Governance and Security, Palgrave Boakye-Danquah who spoke with the media spoke of the latest development.
“Ghana voted YES when we met (at the UN security council meeting) and so the goal is that we condemn the act of what is happening in Ukraine. We accept the congratulatory message that we received from President Putin as it relates to our independence and so we need to put that into context”, he said.
Leader of the students, Peter Akwasi Sarpong expressed gratitude to the government for the assistance.
“Until we get every single Ghanaian student who is trapped in any part of Ukraine out, we cannot celebrate and so as we thank government, we again appeal that every single diplomatic string that can be pulled should be pulled”.At least 300 Ghanaian students are expected to arrive from Ukraine by the end of the week.
