Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Germany's opposition leader Friedrich Merz on Tuesday, the two met at the official residence of the Ukrainian president in Kyiv.
Merz also spoke with Verkhovna Rada Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk and Ukraine's Prime Minister Denis Shmygal, as well as opposition politicians.
before meeting with Zelensky in Kyiv on Tuesday, Merz visited Irpin, and talked to the mayor who spoke about the attacks of the Russian army and the damage caused by the war.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on the other hand said again on Monday that he will not visit Kyiv because of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s refusal to the official visit of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
Scholz said the cold shoulder was inappropriate during an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF, and reiterated he will not not visit Kyiv and Zelensky.
The month before, Steinmeier offered to meet with Zelensky in Kyiv as Germany was expanding its support to Ukraine with aims to assist the country defend itself against Russia’s invasion.
Zelensky refused Steinmeier's visit, telling him not to come, on the grounds that while the German president served as foreign minister, he had fostered close relations between Berlin and Moscow.
"Scholz is playing an offended liverwurst,” Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, said in response to German media. "Russia’s war against Ukraine was a brutal attempt at annihilation, not a kindergarten,” he added.