German politicians reacted with obvious annoyance yesterday Wednesday (13/4) to Ukraine’s leadership refuses to welcome Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Kyiv.
“Insult”, “somewhat annoying”: the descriptions of this gesture of the Ukrainian government vary in Berlin, where there is even talk of interfering in German politics.
THE Mr. Steinmeier wanted to travel to Kyiv yesterday Wednesday, together with Baltic leaders, to express Germany’s support for Ukraine after the Russian military invasion from the 24th of February. But the federal president, a veteran of German politics, for a number of years foreign minister, revealed the day before yesterday Tuesday that was deemed “undesirable” in Kyiv and the Ukrainian side later clarified that it prefers to receive Chancellor Olaf Solz.
Both Mr Steinmeier and Mr Soltz belong to the Social Democrats (SPD).
Last Wednesday night the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky he said how Berlin never officially informed how such a trip was planned. “I, as President and my Office, have never received a formal briefing or request from the Federal President or his Office regarding a visit to Ukraine.”said Mr. Zelensky, according to the Ukrainian news agency UNIAN.
The episode is set against the backdrop of Berlin and Kiev’s counter-claims about German support for the Ukrainian army. The Government of Ukraine accuses the Government of Germany of many different things: submissiveness to Russia in view of the outbreak of war, delay in the delivery of heavy weapons demanded by the Ukrainian armed forces, delay in imposing an embargo on Russian energy.
In any case, the way Mr Steinmeier was treated caused great inconvenience to Germany. For Chancellor Soltsthe attitude of Kiev is “Somewhat annoying.” “The president wanted to go to Kyiv (…) it would be good to receive him”he added.
THE German Foreign Minister Analena Berbock for her part she said she had discussed the planned trip with the federal president and considered it “meaningful”. She expressed her “regret” because it did not happen.
THE Rolf Mitzenich, a prominent SPD official, also described as “sad” the fact that Mr. Steinmeier was not invited, judging that “it is unfair to the close and growing ties between our two countries”. In addition, Mr. Mitsenich warned the Ukrainian government against any “interference in internal political issues in our country.”
THE Wolfgang Button, a senior member of the Free Democrats (FDP), a partner in the government of Olaf Solz, stressed that the gesture probably deleted the possibility of a visit of the chancellor to Kyiv. “I can not imagine that the chancellor of a government in which the FDP participates would travel to a country that declared the head of our state an undesirable person,” he told the German Agency.
On the part of the opposition, the Friedrich Mertzthe leader of the Christian Democrats (CDU), spoke of a “diplomatic insult”, hastening to add sharply to the Rheinische Post that the episode shows the “very deep reservations” of Eastern European states about the SPD’s policy towards Russia.
THE Adviser to the Ukrainian Presidency Oleksiy Arestovich defended the decision not to accept the federal president of Germany, whose office is mainly ceremonial, but Kyiv to invite Chancellor Soltz. “Our president is waiting (in Kyiv) for the chancellor so that immediate, tangible decisions can be made, including decisions on the delivery of weapons to Ukraine,” Arestovich told German state television ARD on Wednesday (13/4). .
Source: News Beast
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