The German president will not go to Kiev. He claims that he is not welcome there – SME.sk

Steinmeier faces criticism for having close relations with Russia in the past. WARSAW. The planned trip of German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to Kiev will not take place because he is “clearly not welcome” there. During his visit to Warsaw, the German president said he planned to travel to Ukraine with other European Union leaders, but Kiev indicated that he was not interested in his presence in the country. close relations with Russia “I was ready to do it, but apparently in Kiev they did not want to,” Steinmeier told reporters after a meeting with Polish President Andrzej Dud. According to Steinmeier, Duda suggested that he travel to the Ukrainian capital together with the heads of the Baltic states (Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia). It was supposed to be a symbol of “European solidarity with Ukraine”. Tuesday’s statement by President Steinmeier came after the German tabloid Bild quoted an unnamed Ukrainian diplomat as saying that Steinmeier was not currently welcome in Kiev because he had close ties with Russia in the past. she said the German president was facing increasing criticism for his “years-long policy of easing pressure on Moscow.” Frank-Walter Steinmeier was Germany’s foreign minister in two offices of Chancellor Angela Merkel. Prior to that, he was the head of the cabinet of the then office of Gerhard Schröder. At the time, Germany was building a dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Berlin “cultivated close energy ties” with Moscow, the AP agency said. The Federal President admitted last week that when he was the head of German diplomacy, he made a mistake in having a moderate attitude towards Russia.