According to Chaly, the inauguration consists of specific measures: the oath, the speech, while everything else is "additional events" organized by various organizations and sponsors.
"In other words, a whole package of such venues is formed, where, as a rule, the president is not present along with the vice president, but enormous sums are paid for it. I recall when one of our politicians wanted to secure a table there for $1 million but couldn't make it – it didn't work out. However, another one did pay, around $250,000, and the vice president [J.D.] Vance was there," the diplomat noted.
Chaly added that during that inauguration, the most successful attempts were to "get closer to a serious conversation."
"As for the rest of the Ukrainian businesspeople I saw – well, you know, the people who are in our Ukrainian Forbes… The top two or three spots were not represented. But further down, they stood there drinking third-rate champagne from paper cups. Or from plastic ones. It made me quite sad to watch… Because, you know, Americans are also economical and business-oriented in that regard. They are more focused on making money," emphasized the Ukrainian ambassador to the U.S. from 2015 to 2019.