German Chancellor Angela Merkel travels next week to Moscow and Kiev, where she is expected to meet with the presidents of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and of Ukraine, Volodymir Zelenski, today announced her government.
The German leader is expected to arrive in Moscow on Friday, Aug. 20, and will travel to Kiev on Sunday, government spokesperson said, Steffen Seibert, cited by the EFE agency.
The spokesperson did not give further details of the visit, saying only that Angela Merkel hopes to meet the respective presidents in the two countries.
“We will give details of his program at the beginning of next week”, promised the spokesman at a regular press conference, according to the agency France-Presse (AFP).
A visit will take place weeks before parliamentary elections September 26, after which Angela Merkel will resign after 16 years in power.
The German chancellor last visited Moscow in January 2020, before the covid-19 pandemic.
Merkel’s trip is set against the backdrop of tensions between Ukraine and Russia, as well as the planned Nord-Stream 2 pipeline.
A Germany is one of Ukraine’s main supporters in the crisis between the country and Russia, marked by the annexation of Crimea in 2014, and by a war with pro-Russian separatists in the East, which killed 13,000 people.
Merkel’s visit also aims to reassure Kiev about the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, said a spokesman for the Ukrainian presidency, quoted by AFP.
Following an agreement in July between Germany and the United States, this pipeline is expected to be completed soon and will transport Russian gas to Europe bypassing Ukraine, representing significant financial losses for Kiev.
Merkel has always defended the need for maintain dialogue with Moscow, even in times of bilateral or multilateral tension, taking into account Russia’s strategic role in major international conflicts such as Syria or Afghanistan.
Source: https://primetimezone.com
