German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (left) says goodbye to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (right), as he leaves Bellevue Palace on May 14, 2023, in Berlin.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Germany for support when he met with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Sunday during his first visit to the country since the Russian invasion.
Zelenskyy arrived in Berlin from Rome, where he met privately on Saturday with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Pope Francis. The Pope pointed out that the Vatican will help repatriate Ukrainian children taken away by the Russians.
He flew on a German government plane escorted by Luftwaffe fighters through German airspace, arriving at midnight.
“During the most difficult moment in Ukraine’s modern history, Germany is proud to be our true friend and reliable ally,” Zelenskyy wrote in the German president’s guestbook. “Together we will win and bring peace to Europe.”
Zelenskyy is expected to meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his security cabinet afterwards before traveling to Aachen in West Germany to receive the prestigious Charlemagne award in honor of services to Europe.
Germany, Europe’s largest economy, faced criticism at the start of the war for what some called a hesitant response, but the country has become one of the main suppliers of financial support. largest financial and military aid to Ukraine.
The government announced 2.7 billion euros ($3 billion) in military aid to Ukraine on Saturday, the largest military aid package since the Russian invasion last February, and at the same time pledges further support to Kiev in time of need.
Zelenskyy hailed it as a “powerful package” in a tweet, indicating that he wanted to discuss arms supplies as well as air defense, reconstruction, and Ukraine’s candidacy for membership of the European Union. Europe and security with German officials.
Zelenskyy last visited Germany for the Munich Security Council last February just before the outbreak of war.
Germany was limited in supporting Ukraine at the time because of its energy dependence on Russia and the pacifism rooted in the country’s bloody 20th-century history.
This required a major policy shift and a shift in mindset that Scholz called “Zeitenwende,” or the turning point of the times, in a landmark speech just days after the outbreak of war. go out.
