Steinmeier Was Transporting A Mixed Message – German Journalist

What You Need To Know:

✅ The recent visit of German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier to the conflict zone in Ukraine’s East displays a divide between the roles of Germany's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Chancellery;
✅ “Steinmeier in a certain way was transporting a mixed message, which looks like a peace offer but actually it’s an admission that the ceasefire has been broken until then;”
✅ “Both sides of the conflict are guilty of ceasefire violations, but the Russian side much more;”
✅ People close to the chancellery in Berlin regard themselves as allies to Ukraine, while people in the MFA would rather define themselves as facilitators.

The recent visit of German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier to the conflict zone in Ukraine’s East displays a divide between the roles of Germany's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Chancellery.

Steinmeier visited Ukraine with a commitment from Moscow to have a seven-day ceasefire and to facilitate the disengagement at the front. A ceasefire had already been agreed upon by the OSCE, Russia, and Ukraine at the end of August. “Steinmeier in a certain way was transporting a mixed message, which looks like a peace offer but actually it’s an admission that the ceasefire has been broken until then,” says German journalist Konrad Schuller.

Recent findings in a research conducted by Schuller prove that “both sides of the conflict are guilty of ceasefire violations, but the Russian side much more.” Chancellor Merkel proposed military help for Ukraine after these findings, while the MFA “basically reacted with silence.”

“Ukraine is frustrated with the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” says Schuller, adding that “the most important talks are between Bankova and the Chancellery and not between the foreign ministries of the two countries.” People close to the chancellery in Berlin regard themselves as allies to Ukraine, while people in the MFA would rather define themselves as facilitators.

Hromadske spoke to Konrad Schuller, German Journalist and Writer at the YES Conference on September, 16th in Kyiv.