German Chancellor Scholz arrives in Kiev for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the first time
According to German local media, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz came in Kiev on Monday for an unexpected visit.
According to the DPA news agency, Scholz has been to Kiev for the first time in two and a half years in order to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Scholz’s visit was not previously publicized for “security reasons,” according to the news agency, and he arrived in Kiev by train.
Scholz said on social media, “I traveled to Kyiv tonight: by train through a country that has been defending itself against the Russian war of aggression for over 1,000 days.”
“I would like to make it clear here on the ground that Germany will remain Ukraine’s strongest supporter in Europe.”
According to the DPA, Scholz said that Germany will provide Ukraine with 650 million euros worth of weaponry in December.
Ahead of early elections that are anticipated to change the political landscape, the DPA revealed that leaders of Germany’s Green Party have been separating themselves from Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Ukraine policy. Germany is scheduled to have elections in 2025.
According to DPA, Scholz also talked with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the phone on November 15 of this year, their first exchange in over two years. According to media sources, Scholz encouraged Putin to undertake peace negotiations with Ukraine during the conversation.
Despite Germany’s continued unwavering support for Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the Scholz and Putin talk was a good thing, according to Russian official media TASS.
Putin informed Scholz that the Kremlin stressed that any deal to halt the conflict in Ukraine “should take into account the security interests of the Russian Federation.”
According to the Russian news agency, Peskov informed reporters that the Kremlin had no expectations for Scholz’s journey to Kiev today, but they were “closely monitoring all news from Kiev.”
