The German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, arrived this Tuesday at the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, in the first visit by a senior German government official since the start of the Russian military offensive on February 24.
Foreign Minister Olaf Scholz has ruled out visiting Ukraine after Kyiv vetoed a trip by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier for his alleged political ties to Russia. Yes, the main leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has traveled.
Baerbock has started his visit to the town of Bucha, located on the outskirts of Kyiv and controlled for weeks by Russian forces. After the withdrawal of these troops, more than 400 bodies have been located in this area.
The agenda of the minister, a member of The Greens, has also included a meeting with her Ukrainian counterpart, Dimitro Kuleba, along with which she has announced the immediate reopening of the German Embassy in kyiv, in line with the step that the latter have also taken weeks other countries.
In the case of Germany, the Embassy was emptied on February 25, one day after the Russian invasion, and the staff have continued to work from Warsaw and Berlin.
On the other hand, Baerbock has reiterated the German commitment to stop relying on fossil fuels from Russia with a view to making this dependency “zero” and “forever”. Germany, one of the European Union countries that most needs Russian gas, has promised to stop importing oil this year.
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