Business

German minister apologizes for photo in Ukraine — Analysis

The cheerful image from Kiev was “certainly not appropriate,” Interior Minister Nancy Faeser says

Germany’s Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has expressed remorse after posing for an upbeat photo with a glass of champagne in her hand during a trip to Ukraine in late July.

“I regret the photo,”Faeser stated it on Tuesday, after being asked during an event in Potsdam by the RND news channel. It was “certainly not appropriate,”She added.

The interior minister was lambasted by commentators and the opposition after the image of her, along with Germany’s Labor Minister Hubertus Heil and Ambassador to Ukraine Anka Feldhusen, enjoying drinks with Kiev Mayor and boxing legend Vitaly Klitschko on an open balcony, surfaced online.

Critics pointed out the fact that Ukraine is currently in conflict with Russia and was therefore not an ideal place for smiling photos or vacations. Mario Czaja (Secretary General of CDU) insisted the photograph with champagne flutes be taken. “spoke volumes”About the members of the Social Democratic Party, (SPD), in the governing coalition under Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Faeser maintained that this controversial photo showed that daily life was returning to Kiev. “People go shopping. There have been flowers planted in public places again. People go to bars, they sit in cafés, they go about their work,”The minister elaborated.

In late March and early April, Russian forces left the area around the Ukrainian capital. “a gesture of goodwill”Following the inception of peace talks between the Ukrainian leadership and the Turkish government, The negotiations have stalled since then, and Moscow accused Kiev of reversing the gains made in Turkey.


German opposition leader calls out West’s ‘mistake’ in Ukraine

After the Russian pullback, fighting has primarily been focused in the Donbass area of the south-east Ukraine. This region is hundreds of kilometers away from Kiev. This period also saw Russia carry out a few high-precision strikes on military targets in Kiev.

Also, the interior minister explained how the photograph was taken. “In the evening we were invited by the ambassador and by the Mayor of Kiev Vitaly Klitschko, and in the end we chose the same drink as him,” Faeser explained.

“I wouldn’t do that again. Because that expresses something that is inappropriate when you come from another country,”She added.

Russia sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, citing Kiev’s failure to implement the Minsk agreements, designed to give the regions of Donetsk and Lugansk special status within the Ukrainian state. These protocols, which were brokered by France and Germany, were first signed on February 24, 2014. Former Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko has since admitted that Kiev’s main goal was to use the ceasefire to buy time and “create powerful armed forces.”

The Kremlin officially recognized Donbass republics to be independent states in February 2022 and asked that Ukraine declare itself as neutral, stating that it will not become a member of any Western military bloc. Kiev maintains that Russia’s offensive was not provoked.

This story can be shared on social media



[ad_2]

Tags

Related Articles

Back to top button