Ukraine-Russia war, no Kiev to visit Steinmeier. Scholz ‘irritated’

Ukraine-Russia war, Olaf Scholz is “irritated” by the diplomatic “insult” of Kiev, which prevented German President Frank Walter Steinmeier from visiting Ukraine, calling him a “persona non grata”. And all the leaders of the main parties agreed with the German Chancellor, who also spoke of interference in domestic politics. Read also “The federal president really wanted to go to Ukraine and meet President Zelensky – said Scholz, referring to the trip to Kiev that Steinmeier should have made together with the Polish president and the three Baltic republics – He is the head of the German state, who was re-elected for his contribution by a large transversal majority. This is also why it would have been positive if they had received him “. That said, when asked by radio Rbb24 if he considered the stop in Kiev an insult, the chancellor replied sharply: “I don’t want to comment. It’s something irritating, to put it mildly.” Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, member of the Greens , said she was “regretted” that Kiev “did not want” Steinmeier, claiming to have spoken with the president of this mission, assuring that it “made sense”. Rolf Mutzenich, leader of the SPD in the Bundestag, said that the ‘no’ to the president “does not do justice to the close and growing ties between our two countries”. And he warned Kiev to avoid “undue interference in the internal politics of our country” -Duro also Wolfgang Kubicki, number two of the Liberal Party (Fdp), according to which Kiev’s behavior will also have consequences on the relationship between Scholz and the Ukrainian authorities : “I cannot imagine that a chancellor of a government of which the FDP is a member goes to a country that has declared our head of state persona non grata”. And CDU leader Friedrich Merz denounced the “diplomatic insult”. The new diplomatic crisis between Kiev and Berlin comes after the tensions of recent weeks when Ukraine had not hidden its disappointment over the promised contribution from Germany of only five thousand helmets in the days leading up to the Russian invasion. Disappointment partly returned with Berlin’s commitment to also send heavy weapons to support the Ukrainian resistance, while the no to the embargo on gas and oil remains.Yesterday, speaking of the visit of the presidents, the Ukrainian authorities had made knowing that he “did not want” Steinmeier in Kiev and prefer Scholz instead. The president, former foreign minister, is considered too close to Russia and in particular to the head of diplomacy in Moscow, Sergei Lavrov. On the matter, confirming the ‘preference’ for Scholz, Volodymyr Zelensky’s adviser, Oleksiy Arestovych, spoke today from Kiev with German TV Ard: “Our president is waiting for a visit from the chancellor, so that he can take immediate concrete decisions, including including those on the delivery of arms to Ukraine “.