A meeting of experts with Slovak professor Alexander Duleba was held at UzhNU
On Friday, April 10, UzhNU hosted a meeting of experts organized by the Center for Regional Risk Analysis in the format of a “Discussion Club” with renowned Slovak political scientist, Ph.D., professor at the University of Prešov, former head, and currently a researcher at the Slovak Foreign Policy Association (SFRA), and Honorary Doctor of Uzhhorod National University, Alexander Duleba.
At the beginning of the meeting, UzhNU Vice Rector and Doctor of Political Science Myroslava Lendiel, on behalf of Rector Volodymyr Smolanka, presented the guest with the resolution of the UzhNU Academic Council awarding Alexander Duleba the academic honoris causa distinction.
Svitlana Mitriaieva, Honorary President of the NGO “Center for Regional Risk Analysis” and Doctor of Philosophy, introduced the participants to the topics submitted for expert review. These included, in particular: European security; the impact of Russian military aggression and Trump’s policies on the security order; Ukraine’s integration into the EU—enlargement scenarios; urgent reforms within the EU and key steps on both sides for Ukraine’s successful accession; and Ukrainian-Slovak relations.
The discussion on these issues included Doctors of Science and Professors Vasyl Levkulych, Yurii Ostapets, Yaroslav Lazur, Mykola Palinchak, Volodymyr Prykhodko, and Volodymyr Khymynets, as well as Candidates of Science and Associate Professors Ihor Vehesh, Vitalii Andreiko, Mykhailo Shelemba, Anatolii Holovka, Oksana Svezhentseva, and Marianna Marusynets; Martin Jugas, Deputy Consul General of Slovakia in Uzhhorod; Oleh Adamchuk, Honorary Consul of Slovakia in Velykyi Bereznyi; and Vasyl Ilnytskyi, Head of the Information and Publishing Center at UzhNU.
At the beginning of his speech, Aleksander Duleba thanked UzhNU for awarding him the honorary title of Honoris Causa. “It is symbolic that I began my journey into adulthood by studying at a Ukrainian university—Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv—and am concluding the active phase of my own academic career with an honorary degree from Uzhhorod National University.
This honor motivates me to continue developing further cooperation between our partner universities, neighboring countries, and friendly nations,” the guest emphasized.
“I had the opportunity, as an advisor to Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger, to attend the summit of European leaders organized by French President Emmanuel Macron at the very outset of Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine, which took place on March 10–11, 2022, in Versailles. It was there that we presented to our colleagues the case for Ukraine’s “rapid integration,” based on my diverse research conducted over many years. When the Slovak Prime Minister proposed that European leaders support this initiative, most of them were shocked! They weren’t sure if there would be anyone left to integrate or anyone left to help, as many believed Ukraine was about to collapse. Thanks to five years of studying in Kyiv and my understanding of the Ukrainian mindset, I was fully aware that the occupiers would not be able to defeat Ukraine in “2–3 days,” or even over the course of years. These convictions needed to be conveyed to our partners. And we succeeded! It was then that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen invited E. Heger to visit Kyiv with her in April 2022, when Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers drove the Muscovite troops out of the Kyiv region,” said A. Duleba.
Responding to questions from experts, he provided a detailed analysis of current European security issues amid the chaotic and destructive actions of the current administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, emphasizing the urgent need for reforms within the EU and the need to reshape the current state of Ukrainian-Slovak relations.
