According to his office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet with Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin on Friday. A visit to Paris to see French President Emmanuel Macron is also planned for Friday, the presidential office in Kiev said on Telegram. Zelensky will then appear at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday.
A government spokesman in Berlin confirmed Zelensky’s meeting with Chancellor Scholz. It is expected that, as in France, a bilateral security agreement will be signed. These agreements date back to the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania last July. There, the heads of state and government of the defense alliance agreed that the individual member states would conclude long-term security agreements with Ukraine.
Munich Security Conference
The Ukrainian president will speak at the Munich Security Conference, the presidential office announced. Bilateral meetings are also planned. Zelenskyj will hold one of these with US Vice President Kamala Harris. The White House announced the conversation between the two on Saturday in the Vice President’s official program for her visit to Germany. Harris will also meet Scholz in Munich.
Zelensky, for his part, has also explicitly announced meetings with Czech President Petr Pavel, Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
Zelensky’s participation in the conference had been expected for some time, but had not yet been officially confirmed. The Ukrainian president opened the most important meeting of politicians and experts on security policy last year with a video address. Now he is taking part in person for the first time since the Russian invasion almost exactly two years ago.
It is Zelenskyj’s second visit to Germany since the Russian attack on Ukraine. His first visit was to Berlin and Aachen in May last year. The occasion at that time was the awarding of the Charlemagne Prize to him in Aachen. Selenskyj had previously met with Scholz in the Chancellery and with Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Bellevue Palace.
No invitation for Russia and Iran
Around 50 heads of state and government as well as more than 100 ministers from all over the world are expected to attend the security conference at the Bayerischer Hof Hotel from Friday to Sunday. In addition to the Federal Chancellor and US Vice President Harris, they also include Israeli President Izchak Herzog. The governments of Russia and Iran are not invited.
Zelenskyj wants to agree on a bilateral security agreement with France beforehand. French President Macron will receive him in Paris on Friday. The agreement will be signed, the Elysée Palace announced. The Élysée initially did not provide any details about the content of the agreement.
A month ago, Macron promised Ukraine a support agreement similar to the one Great Britain had sealed with the country attacked by Russia. The agreement between Great Britain and Ukraine stipulates that London will support Ukraine now, but also in possible future conflicts with Russia. This is about quick and lasting military aid, not about deploying British soldiers.
At the meeting between Macron and Zelensky, the French president wants to emphasize again that France is determined to support Ukraine in the long term. The two also want to talk about the situation on the front, Ukraine’s military, economic and humanitarian needs and the EU accession negotiations. Friday’s meeting will be Zelensky’s third visit to Paris since the start of Russia’s war of aggression against his country.
