A planned trip to Kyiv by Germany’s President Frank-Walter Steinmeier fell through because he is obviously not welcome there. “I was ready for it. But apparently – and I have to acknowledge that – that was not wanted in Kyiv,” said Steinmeier today during a visit to Warsaw.
In the past few days, Polish President Andrzej Duda had suggested that they travel to the Ukrainian capital together with the heads of state of the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, “to send and set a strong sign of common European solidarity with Ukraine “. This is no longer the case.
“Bitter Record”
First, the “Bild” newspaper reported that the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj had refused a visit from Steinmeier to Kyiv. In his previous offices, Steinmeier had pursued pro-Russian policies and also supported the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project. A week ago, he then admitted mistakes in his Russia policy for the first time, drew a “bitter balance sheet” and declared that he was wrong about Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Ukrainian ambassador in Berlin, Andriy Melnyk, had previously sharply criticized Steinmeier and accused him of having “made a spider’s web of contacts with Russia for decades”. He was referring primarily to Steinmeier’s earlier activities as German foreign and chancellery minister.