This is how Olaf Scholz’s trip went

Kyiv As if to illustrate the seriousness of the situation, the sirens wailed at the beginning. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), French President Emmanuel Macron and Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi had just arrived in Kyiv on the night train when an air alarm was triggered in the Ukrainian capital. It was over quickly, but the prominent visitors should have gotten a small impression of what the war, which has been going on for almost four months, means for the Ukrainians.

In the devastated Kiev suburb of Irpin, Scholz and his fellow travelers were able to see the brutality with which the Russian army is waging its war of aggression. Similar to neighboring Bucha, almost 300 civilians were found dead after the Russians retreated at the end of March. Like Butscha, Irpin had “long since become a symbol of the unimaginable cruelty of the Russian war, of senseless violence,” said Scholz.

For a long time, the chancellor had hesitated to travel to Ukraine to see for himself and to personally assure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of his solidarity. First there was the upset about the planned visit by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, which was not wanted in the Ukraine. Then Scholz withdrew to the position that he didn’t just want to travel to Selenski for a “short in and out with a photo shoot”. When he comes, the message goes, he wants to bring something substantial with him.

The government in Kyiv had made the clear expectation that the visit of prominent guests from the three largest EU countries would be about more than symbolism. The Ukrainian ambassador Andriy Melnyk had shortly before confirmed in the “Rheinische Post” that his country was finally waiting for the green light for the delivery of the requested 88 “Leopard 1” battle tanks and 100 “Marder” infantry fighting vehicles, which the Rheinmetall group had offered.

Before the trio talked to Selenski, in which the Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, who had traveled separately, also took part, Scholz assured that the support would continue for as long “as is necessary for Ukraine’s struggle for independence”. He also promised further arms deliveries, without being specific.

Lambrecht promises to deliver weapons soon

Before the meeting with her NATO counterparts in Brussels, Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht emphasized that the promised Type 2000 self-propelled howitzers and “Gepard” anti-aircraft tanks could be delivered soon. In addition, the training of Ukrainian soldiers on the multiple rocket launcher “Mars” should begin in June. Germany has pledged three systems, which Lambrecht says could be deployed in late July or early August.

Perhaps Ukraine hoped even more that the visit would provide clear prospects for accession to the European Union. The Brussels Commission wants to publish its recommendation on this issue this Friday. Selenski had applied to join the EU a few days after the start of the war. Germany, France and Italy are in favor of Ukraine being granted EU candidate status, Macron said after the meeting with Zelenskiy.

Before the visit, France’s president had caused irritation when he offered non-EU countries a “European Political Community”. This was interpreted in Kyiv as an attempt to deny the country accession to the EU. Shortly before the trip, the French put their concept in concrete terms in a so-called non-paper, which they distributed among the EU member states. The document is available to the Handelsblatt.

In it, the government in Paris makes it clear that the “political community” is not intended as a substitute for an EU candidacy, and that the Ukrainians’ desire for membership is described as “legitimate”. Rather, the new community should complement the existing accession procedure. It “would not be an alternative to membership of the European Union and would not replace the enlargement process,” the French clarified.

>> Read here: “The situation is slipping”: only heavy weapons can stop Russia in the Donbass

The idea is to found the “European Political Community” this year “among all European states that want to contribute to the security, stability and prosperity of our continent” – regardless of whether they are EU members or not.

Such a forum that brings “all members of the European family together as equals and in the spirit of the unity of our continent” does not yet exist. The “European Political Community” is intended to respond to “challenges faced by all countries of the European continent”.

The French cite foreign and security policy, climate change and the supply of raw materials as examples. The community would offer Ukraine and other countries wishing to join the Union the opportunity to strengthen ties with the EU member states – “possibly also through gradual integration into the internal market”.

The forum is to meet “several times a year at the level of heads of state and government and at ministerial level”. In addition, it should adopt a “light legal structure endowed with decision-making powers” but “at the same time respecting the decision-making autonomy of the European Union and of each of the states that make up this community”.

Scholz and Macron want to regain trust

The Green politician Jürgen Trittin welcomed the result of the visit. “The signal from the heads of government’s trip to Kyiv is that Ukraine, which opted for Europe at the Maidan, also belongs in Europe,” he told Handelsblatt. In view of the worsening situation in eastern Ukraine, this “visible commitment of our solidarity with Ukraine on the ground is more important than ever”. The fact that Scholz went to Kyiv with Macron, Draghi and Iohannis also demonstrates European unity in supporting Ukraine.

>> Read here: All developments in the Ukraine war in the news blog

For Scholz as well as for Macron, the visit was also about restoring lost trust. Both are careful to strike a balance between dialogue and military support. Even if his telephone diplomacy with Russian President Vladimir Putin failed in the weeks before the invasion, Macron is determined to keep the communication channel to Moscow open. He has also repeatedly warned against “humiliating” Russia in the conflict.

Selenski had heavily criticized the mediation efforts and the phone calls between Macron and Scholz and Putin. “You can’t look for a way out for Russia, and Macron tries in vain,” he said, for example. The Ukrainian government also believes that Paris could do more with arms deliveries.

After the talks with Zelenskiy, Macron promised six more mobile artillery systems of the “Caesar” type, of which Paris had wanted to deliver twelve so far. Other countries are moving much faster: Slovakia will deliver five Soviet-designed helicopters, Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad tweeted.

Thousands of Slovak 122mm “Grad” missiles have also gone to the Ukrainian armed forces. It has also been agreed that eight new self-propelled “Zuzana 2” howitzers will be transported to Ukraine. According to Lithuania, it has completed the delivery of M113 armored personnel carriers worth around 15.5 million euros.

The Chairwoman of the Defense Committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP), called on the Western Allies to provide even more support: “I am of the opinion that this war can only be carried out militarily, i.e. also with the help of the weapons of NATO partners, can be solved,” she told the Handelsblatt.

The spokesman for the Russian Presidential Office, Dmitri Peskov, recommended that Scholz, Macron and Draghi not only talk about arms deliveries when meeting with Zelensky. The three EU leaders should use their time with the Ukrainian president to take a “realistic look at the situation”. As evidence, there was a second air alert during the EU trio’s visit to Kyiv. And Russia’s EU ambassador threatened that Russian gas supplies through the Baltic Sea pipeline Nord Stream 1 could be temporarily suspended – due to problems with repairs.

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