Ukrainian rejection of Steinmeier: Germany in a dilemma

Ukraine’s cancellation of a trip to Kyiv by Federal President Steinmeier has caused astonishment in the federal government. Apparently, the upset in Ukraine is huge.

It is a clear indication of how Germany’s reputation in Ukraine is at the moment: President Zelenskyj does not want to see the German head of state, the highest representative of the Federal Republic, at the moment.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier had to realize this with dismay, when he actually wanted to travel to Ukraine this week together with the presidents of Poland and the three Baltic states. “I was willing to do that. But apparently – and I have to admit – that was not wanted in Kyiv,” said Steinmeier.

“The nerves are blank everywhere”

The German government commented calmly on the rebuff: “The Federal President is taking a clear and unequivocal position on the side of Ukraine,” said a government spokesman, defending Steinmeier. Germany was and is one of the most determined supporters of Ukraine internationally, the spokesman continued.

Three envoys from the Bundestag were definitely welcomed in western Ukraine: The Green Anton Hofreiter, Michael Roth from the SPD and the FDP politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, who reported on ZDF about an “unusual occurrence” in relation to Kiev’s rejection of Steinmeier said: “That’s not friendly, but nerves are bare everywhere. That’s why I recommend clarifying this behind the scenes in this case.”

Steinmeier had admitted mistakes

The reason for the cancellation is quite obviously Steinmeier’s overly pro-Russia course in recent years, from Kyiv’s point of view. As foreign minister, he had always promoted the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, among other things. “It’s true that we should have taken the warnings from our Eastern European partners more seriously. Especially when it came to the period after 2014 and the expansion of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. And that’s why it was definitely a mistake to hold on,” Steinmeier said week granted.

But despite the acknowledgment of mistakes and mistakes, it is only now that it is becoming really clear how much German Russia policy has caused dismay and resentment in Kyiv in recent years.

Critics warn: Germany must shake off its image

All the more important, critics in Germany warn, that Germany is finally shaking off the image of once again withholding important aid from Ukraine out of consideration for Russia. The FDP and the Greens are now convinced that Kyiv should urgently and quickly receive heavy weapons – specifically: tanks – in view of an impending major Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine. “The fact that Ukraine needs more in this situation, including heavy weapons, is more than clear,” said Green Party leader Omid Nouripour.

That is a sentence that has never been heard from Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Despite the increasingly pleading-sounding demands from Kyiv, he has been very reserved in recent days. What critics describe as dangerous “braking” is what SPD faction leader Rolf Mützenich calls “prudence” in an ARD interview. One is already among the countries that have supplied a larger number of weapons:

Time is running out

Another reason for the long hesitation in the Chancellery could be that they do not want to block diplomatic opportunities. But Ukraine is running out of time. And the federal government, too, in at least one respect: Germany is already running the risk of being perceived again by its allies as a country that delivers “too little, too late” – despite the “turning point”.

And the chancellor is in a dilemma in another respect. Ukraine would like Olaf Scholz to visit Kyiv, as Ambassador Andrij Melnyk emphasized on Pro7/Sat1 in the evening. If the Chancellor travels, he makes the Federal President, who has just been invited, look bad. If he doesn’t travel, the signal is: Germany is abandoning Ukraine.