Chancellor Scholz chaired the opening of the conference on the reconstruction of Ukraine in Berlin, where he called for a “new Marshall Plan for the 21st century”, while head of state Steinmeier visited the Russian-invaded country and pledged his support for Kiev. all levels.
The head of the German government said Ukraine’s reconstruction “must start now”, and that it will be a “challenge for generations” while also providing an opportunity to modernize infrastructure, schools and hospitals. Olaf Scholz also recalled that the country needs to be rebuilt, taking into account the expected membership of the European Union. “The EU’s commitment to Ukraine as a future member is one of the most important geopolitical decisions of our time,” he said.
Meanwhile, the president was visiting Ukraine, days after he postponed the trip on the advice of German security services. But the beginning of Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s visit eventually fell out of the program. While he was in Koryukivka – a journey full of symbolism, as the small town in the north of the country was the scene of massacres by Nazi soldiers – alarms sounded because of the launch of drones from Belarus and the German president was forced to to collect goods. to a shelter.
“This gave us a particularly intense sense of the conditions people live in here,” he said. Upon arrival in Kiev, Steinmeier promised that Germany would “continue to support Ukraine, economically, politically and also militarily”. The German president was unequivocally on the side of Kiev after seeing months ago that the invitation to the visit was withdrawn due to his support for trade relations with Russia, especially the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. The Social Democrat apologized.
At the conference, where President Zelensky urged the international community to help cover the $38 billion budget deficit, European Investment Bank president Werner Hoyer called for reconstruction to begin as soon as possible. Also in Berlin, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki preferred to call for steadfastness:
“The policy to appease Russia is bankrupt and anyone who still tries to implement it is dragging Europe along,” he said. The day before, during a visit to the Vatican, French President Francis asked to act as an intermediary in a peace process involving Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Orthodox Patriarch Cyril and US President Joe Biden, as well as Emmanuel Macron himself. would be involved. “Whether this really goes in the direction of efforts to find possible solutions can be seen in a positive light,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said.
Source: DN
