Demand for arms supplies
The traffic light trio travels to Lviv for talks
04/12/2022, 8:28 p.m
While a trip to Kyiv by Federal President Steinmeier was shattered and the Ukrainians wanted Chancellor Scholz to visit them, a high-ranking group of German politicians traveled to Lviv in western Ukraine. The chairmen of three important committees have one demand in common.
Three leading German parliamentarians from the traffic light coalition traveled to Ukraine to show solidarity. The chairmen of the foreign affairs, defense and Europe committees – Michael Roth from the SPD, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann from the FDP and Anton Hofreiter from the Greens – arrived in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, where they held talks with members of the Ukrainian parliament Rada wanted to lead. All three politicians had recently called for more speed in arms deliveries.
It is the highest-ranking German politicians who have been visiting Ukraine since the start of the war seven weeks ago. The SPD member of the Bundestag, Frank Schwabe, was there last week with a delegation from the Council of Europe. The heads of government from Poland, Great Britain, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Slovakia have already traveled to Kyiv to strengthen the Ukraine in the fight against the Russian attackers. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was there on Friday.
Ukraine would also like a visit from Chancellor Olaf Scholz. “I do believe that it could send a strong signal when the Chancellor travels to Kyiv,” said Ukrainian Ambassador Andriy Melnyk at the weekend. At the same time, however, he emphasized that the SPD politician should not come empty-handed. “It would be of central importance that Chancellor Scholz’s visit was accompanied by new strategic decisions by the traffic light coalition.” What is meant is the delivery of heavy weapons such as tanks and artillery pieces.
Steinmeier becomes “persona non grata”
A planned trip to Kyiv by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has now fallen through because the German head of state is obviously not welcome there. In the past few days, Polish President Andrzej Duda had suggested that they travel to the Ukrainian capital together with the heads of state of the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, “to send and set a strong sign of common European solidarity with Ukraine “said Steinmeier during his visit to Warsaw. “I was willing to do that. But apparently – and I have to admit – that was not wanted in Kyiv.”