Chancellor Olaf Scholz addressed Ukraine’s refusal to welcome President Frank-Walter Steinmeier again Wednesday, calling it “a problem for the German people.” He said Kyiv needed to do its part to resolve the issue.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday again publicly addressed the ongoing diplomatic spat between Germany and Ukraine over Kyiv’s mid-April rebuff of a proposed visit by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier over his perceived friendliness toward Russia.
Scholz has been under increasing public pressure to visit Kyiv but says the snub of the country’s highest representative is keeping him from doing so.
Speaking to reporters alongside Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck (Greens) and Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) after a closed Cabinet meeting at Meseberg Palace outside Berlin Wednesday, Scholz (SPD) called Ukraine’s treatment of Steinmeier, “a problem for the German government, also for the German people.”
Though he did not call for an apology, Scholz went on to say that leaders in Ukraine ought reflect upon what they could do to resolve the issue.
He refrained from going into further specifics saying that he was not interested in leveling criticism as he felt that would not be productive.
The issue has continued to grab headlines in Germany, not least as a result of Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Andriy Melnyk’s repeated public insults of both Steinmeier and Scholz.
Yesterday, Melnyk used an old German schoolyard barb to accuse Scholz of feigning insult when explaining his refusal to visit Kyiv before Steinmeier.
Among those who chimed in on the issue was Wolfgang Ischinger, president of the Munich Security Conference Foundation Council and a former ambassador to the US himself.
Ischinger issued a tweet reminding Melnyk that he could even risk hurting his country’s cause by dishing out such strong sentiments.
He also quoted his own words to Donald Trump’s appointed US ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, who repeatedly irked his hosts in Berlin and the wider German public through his frequent undiplomatic utterances.
Lieber @MelnykAndrij: besser jetzt mal kurz innehalten. Sie sind hier akkredit.Botschafter u riskieren mit Ihren starken Sprüchen. der ukr Sache zu schaden. Vor Jahren riet ich @RichardGrenell: „explain your country‘s policies, but do not try to tell your host country what to do“ https://t.co/t6cHbHmDOc
— Wolfgang Ischinger (@ischinger) May 4, 2022
Source: https://www.dw.com/en/scholz-stands-firm-on-ukraine-visit-amid-criticism-at-home-and-abroad/a-61687080?maca=en-Whatsapp-sharing
