War in Ukraine: Friedrich Merz travels to Kyiv
Created: 04/30/2022, 23:19
By: Nadja Austel
CDU leader Friedrich Merz at a demonstration against the war in Ukraine.
© Annette Riedl/dpa
The government of Ukraine should expect a visit from Friedrich Merz.
The planned trip is now confirmed by his chief of staff.
According to a report, the CDU chairman Friedrich Merz is to travel to Ukraine next Monday (May 2nd).
The leader of the opposition in the Bundestag is planning a visit to Kyiv, the Bild newspaper writes on Saturday (April 30), without naming a source for the information.
A CDU party spokesman initially did not want to confirm the trip.
The CDU spread a message from Merz's chief of staff, Jacob Schrot, via Twitter on Saturday evening, in which he wrote without naming a date: "Friedrich Merz is indeed planning a trip to Ukraine." The Berlin daily mirror also reported under Citing party and security circles, a trip from Merz planned for Monday.
Schrot continued: “Germany's support for Ukraine is not a question of government versus opposition.
This is why the democratic center of the German Bundestag passed a joint motion to support Ukraine this week.
With his visit, Friedrich Merz wants to express the joint state-political responsibility of the opposition and the government.” He also wanted to signal that Ukraine is not alone in its fight for freedom, but has Germany at its side.
"Friedrich Merz wants to listen and take the concrete requests for support from the Ukrainian interlocutors to Germany."
Ukraine War: German politicians in Kyiv
At the beginning of April, the chairmen of the Bundestag committees for defence, foreign relations and European affairs traveled to Ukraine.
The FDP defense politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, the SPD foreign politician Michael Roth and the Greens European politician Anton Hofreiter met there with representatives of the Ukrainian parliament.
The German government has not visited the embattled country since the start of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine on February 24.
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (SPD) had planned to travel to Ukraine on April 12.
However, Kyiv refused.
(na/afp)