From BZ/dpa
A number of heads of state and government were already there, as were some federal ministers. However, there has not been a chancellor trip to Kyiv since the beginning of the war. According to one report, that could change soon.
According to information from “Bild am Sonntag”, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) wants to travel to Kyiv before the G7 summit at the end of June. He is planning the visit with French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, the newspaper reported on Saturday, citing French and Ukrainian government sources. A spokesman for the federal government did not want to comment on the report on Saturday evening. Macron’s Elyseé Palace in Paris said: “No, we do not confirm this information.”
Since the beginning of the war, numerous heads of state and government have traveled to Kyiv to demonstrate their solidarity with the country attacked by Russia. Scholz had recently said that he would only travel there if there were specific things to discuss.
Ukraine hopes the EU will declare it a candidate country at its summit on June 23-24, just ahead of the June 26-28 G7 summit. The EU Commission intends to make its recommendation on this next week. That’s why Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen (CDU) traveled to Kyiv at the weekend for the second time since the beginning of the war. There she met the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
From the Élysée Palace it was said on Friday that Macron was available for a visit to Ukraine, but there were no concrete travel plans and dates yet. Such a trip could take place before, but also after the EU summit. There was no talk of a joint visit with Scholz or Draghi. The purpose of a trip by Macron will be to open up or initiate a European perspective for Ukraine, it said.
No “short in and out with a photo op”
Selenskyj invited Scholz to Kyiv weeks ago. At first, however, there was resentment because of the short-term cancellation of a trip by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier from the Ukrainian side. After the irritations had been cleared up, Scholz pointed out that such a trip is not about symbols, but about content: “I will not join a group of people who do something for a short in and out with a photo shoot . But if, then it’s always about very concrete things.”
A number of his ministers have since been to Ukraine: Annalena Baerbock (external, Greens), Svenja Schulze (development, SPD) and most recently Karl Lauterbach (health, SPD) and Cem Özdemir (agriculture, Greens). Parliament President Bärbel Bas (SPD) and opposition leader Friedrich Merz (CDU) also visited Kyiv.
Balkans instead of Kyiv: Scholz on the way somewhere else when it comes to EU accession
Instead, Scholz toured five Balkan countries on Friday and Saturday. This trip also dealt with the topic of EU accession. Nineteen years ago, six countries in the Western Balkans were promised admission to the European Union. Not a single one of them is close to joining today. Two do not even have the candidate status that Ukraine is now hoping for.
At his last station in Sofia, Scholz commented positively on the recent trips to Kyiv by the Leyens, Lauterbachs and Özdemirs. “I welcome all these trips,” he said. They are not surprising to him and all make sense. That is also the standard for such trips. When asked if and when he would travel to Ukraine himself, the chancellor did not answer.
Usually no announcement due to security reasons
Trips by top politicians to conflict or even war zones are usually not announced for security reasons. But there are also exceptions: Scholz announced the Baerbock trip in advance without giving an exact date. Von der Leyen also announced her first trip to Kyiv without giving any details.
