diplomatic dispute
Ambassador Melnyk sees no reason to apologize
The Ukrainian Ambassador Andriy Melnyk in his office in the embassy building in Berlin. Photo: Kay Nietfeld/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Andriy Melnyk called Chancellor Olaf Scholz an “offended liver sausage”. This caused strong criticism, but the Ukrainian ambassador emphasizes that something else is much more important.
The Ukrainian Ambassador Andriy Melnyk sees no reason for an apology after his attack on Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
“It’s not about apologizing, it’s about making the right policy these days,” he told Deutschlandfunk. “It’s not about whether you feel offended or not, it’s about whether you help us not to lose in this war and to save lives.” The problem that stood in the way has now been cleared up by the phone call between the two Presidents Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Volodymyr Zelenskyj.
The irritation arose after the Ukrainian side rejected a visit to Kyiv by Federal President Steinmeier in mid-April, accusing him of pursuing a pro-Russian policy as a former foreign minister. Chancellor Scholz then initially refused his own visit. Melnyk therefore called Scholz an “insulted liver sausage” and had been heavily criticized for it in Germany.
Steinmeier and Selenskyj then phoned each other on Thursday. Irritations from the past had been cleared up, it was said afterwards. Selenskyj invited both Steinmeier personally and the entire federal government to visit Kyiv, according to the Federal President’s Office.