Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wants to smooth ties with Germany after President Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s failed visit. “We are not interested in strengthening bilateral relations,” Kuleba said in Kiev today, according to the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
Ukraine respects Germany and the institution of its president. However, President Volodymyr Zelenskyj again raised serious accusations against Berlin.
In an interview with the British broadcaster BBC, Zelenskyy put Germany in a fight with Hungary and accused the two countries of having prevented an oil embargo against Russia. “We don’t understand how money can be made with blood. Unfortunately, that’s what some countries are doing,” he said. Now we need to talk to these countries to change their attitude.
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Kuleba attributed this to coordination problems in organizing the visit of several foreign presidents. Kuleba stressed that Kiev expects a new German policy towards Ukraine. It is about the delivery of heavy weapons like tanks and an oil embargo.
Steinmeier’s lack of invitation caused outrage along all party lines in Germany. Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck also criticized the cancellation yesterday. “The federal president is Germany. And that’s why President Selenskyj’s invitation is an invitation from Germany,” the green politician told the newspapers of the Funke media group (Thursday edition).