Bundestag President Bärbel Bas (SPD) wants to travel to Ukraine. Bas wanted “at the invitation of her Ukrainian counterpart to commemorate all the victims of the Second World War and to hold political talks with him,” said the spokeswoman for the President of the Bundestag Süddeutsche Zeitung. She did not want to give a date yet.
“Such trips require careful and intensive coordination, also with the Ukrainian side and the responsible security authorities,” said the spokeswoman. Please understand that no further information is possible. The internal planning for the trip has been going on “since the beginning of April”. But “the constantly changing security situation must be observed”. In the past few days there have been Russian rocket attacks on Ukrainian railway systems, which have severely disrupted train traffic.
The World War II commemoration in Ukraine is on May 8th, that is, this Sunday. The portal was the first to have information about the travel plans of the President of the Bundestag The Pioneer reported with reference to Ukrainian parliamentary circles.
Bas would be the highest-ranking German politician to go to Ukraine since the beginning of the war. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier wanted to travel to Kyiv in mid-April, but his visit was rejected by Ukraine. This diplomatic affront had caused considerable annoyance in the Office of the Federal President, but also in the case of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD).
Scholz has made it clear in the past few days how seriously he takes the matter. At first he was only “a bit irritated” about the invitation, but on Wednesday he went a lot further at the end of the cabinet meeting in Meseberg. It was “a problem for the German government and for the German people that the Federal President was asked not to come,” said the Chancellor. Ukraine will have to make its “contribution”. This could be taken as a clear indication that a clarifying phone call between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Steinmeier would help.
“We Germans support Ukraine with all our hearts”
During a visit to Romania on Wednesday, when asked how things should continue after Zelenskiy had been invited, the Federal President said: “We Germans support Ukraine with all our hearts.” He also expresses this support during visits like this one to Romania, “and of course also in exchange with my Ukrainian counterpart – if that’s possible”.
Steinmeier therefore does not expect an apology from the Ukrainian President. But he hopes that his offer of talks will be accepted by Zelensky. A phone call between the two presidents would significantly ease the situation.
But even after such a phone call, it remains to be seen whether the chancellor will travel to Kyiv quickly. On the one hand, the gesture of solidarity is urgently expected there. On the other hand, the question arises as to whether it has not been devalued from the outset by the long delay. At the very least, Scholz would be expected in Kyiv to bring new commitments – both in terms of arms deliveries and support for Ukraine’s EU membership.
There is therefore speculation as to whether Scholz would be best off traveling to the Ukrainian capital with the re-elected French President Emmanuel Macron. A joint visit from the two most powerful EU states would also be perceived as a strong message in the direction of Moscow. Macron is expected to make his inaugural visit to Berlin on Monday. So far, however, there are no indications that the two could then travel on to Kyiv together.