German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has spoken to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky by phone and resolved a row over a would-be visit to Kiev that was turned down, the presidential office in Berlin said on Thursday. Steinmeier had planned to go to the Ukrainian capital with the heads of state of Poland, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania in mid-April, but was told not to come at short notice, writes news agency MIA.
Kiev’s decision came amid sustained criticism of Steinmeier‘s ties with Russia and his failure during his time as foreign minister to heed warnings from Germany’s Eastern European neighbours about the threat of Russian aggression. Steinmeier expressed his “solidarity, respect and support for the courageous struggle of the Ukrainian people against the Russian aggressor” to Zelensky, and both heads of state described the conversation as “very important” and “very good,” the presidential office said. It added that both the Steinmeier and the left-leaning government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz had been invited to Kiev.
Scholz, who has been accused by Zelensky of not doing enough to support Ukraine’s fight against Russia, has repeatedly declined invitations from the Kiev leadership, saying the earlier snub of Steinmeier prevented him from visiting.
That provided an opening for conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz, who this week became the first high-profile German politician to travel to Kiev.
Merz, the head of the centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU), seemed to take credit for the reconciliation between Steinmeier and Zelensky on Thursday.
“I am very grateful to President Zelensky for accepting my request for an invitation for the federal president,” Merz told dpa, adding that “the way is now clear for personal meetings” between the leaders.
Other politicians, including Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Bundestag President Bärbel Bas, have also announced their intention to do so.
A spokeswoman told dpa on Thursday that Bas intends to travel to Ukraine at the invitation of her Ukrainian counterpart, Ruslan Stefanchuk, to hold talks and to jointly commemorate the victims of World War II.
As president of the Bundestag, Bas holds the second-highest office in Germany after Steinmeier. The World War II commemoration in Ukraine takes place on May 8.
