Ukrainian Foreign Minister encourages Germany to show more leadership
A proposal by Chancellor Scholz at the latest EU summit clears the way for accession negotiations with Ukraine. Its foreign minister would like to see even more commitment from Germany in this direction.
The Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has called on the German government to continue to play a leading role in Ukraine diplomacy in the future. In an interview with "Bild am Sonntag" ("BamS"), Kuleba praised Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz for preventing a Hungarian veto against the opening of EU accession negotiations with Kiev at the EU summit. This will "go down in history as an act of German leadership in the interests of Europe".
Kuleba added that he could only hope "that this would also mean a broader and irreversible turnaround in Germany's attitude". As recently as May, his appeals to Germany to take the lead on the issue of EU accession negotiations had "mostly fallen on deaf ears".
At the EU summit, Scholz had suggested to Hungarian head of government Viktor Orban that he leave the room for a coffee break so that the assembled heads of state and government could vote on the opening of accession negotiations with Ukraine without him. Orban followed this suggestion, so that the representatives of the other 26 member states took the decision for the accession negotiations in his absence.
Kuleba: Europe needs more self-confidence
Kuleba emphasized in "BamS" that with this decision, for the first time since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine in February 2022, the EU "has not waited for the American decision-makers, but has set an example for them to follow". This proves "that Europe has the ability to take on a leadership role and that it only needs more self-confidence".
Washington has been struggling for months over the continuation of military aid for Ukraine. There is resistance to this aid from the ranks of the opposition Republicans in Congress.
However, further aid for Ukraine was also an unresolved issue at the EU summit last Thursday and Friday. While his brief absence enabled the decision to begin accession negotiations with Kiev, Orban maintained his opposition to the release of 50 billion euros in Ukraine funds. A special summit on the Ukraine aid is to take place at the beginning of next year.
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Kuleba expressed his gratitude to Chancellor Scholz for overcoming Hungary's veto and paving the way for Ukraine's EU accession negotiations, calling it a significant act of German leadership. He further emphasized that this decision demonstrated Europe's capacity for self-leadership, highlighting the need for more European self-confidence.
Source: www.ntv.de
