German Chancellor Angela Merkel to visit Ukraine
The German Chancellor Angela Merkel will travel to Kiev, Ukraine as part of a diplomatic push to bring an end to ongoing violence in eastern Ukraine that broke out after the overthrow of Viktor Yanukovich in Feb. 2014.
The New York Times says Merkel's office announced the trip Aug. 19, and that she will visit the Ukrainian capital Saturday, Aug. 23. It is Merkel's first trip to Ukraine since Yanukovich's overthrow.
While in Kiev, Merkel will meet with Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Arseniy P. Yatsenyuk. Merkel will also meet with a number of politicians from throughout Ukraine to learn as much about the situation on the ground as possible. She will also seek to learn what issues are the most pressing for people living through the fighting.
On Monday, Aug. 18, Merkel visited Latvia in an effort to reassure Latvia and the other Baltic states of Estonia and Lithuania that in the case of Russian aggression, NATO would come to their aid. Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are all members of NATO that were previously a part of the Soviet Union. Many in Russia view their 2004 inclusion into NATO as encroachment on traditionally Russian territory.
This trip is just another example of Merkel's dedicated efforts to reach some sort of understanding in eastern Ukraine. She has personally spoken to Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin numerous times on the telephone. Her government has also organized and hosted talks bringing together Ukraine and Russia.
The Times reports that even as Merkel was traveling in the region, the German foreign minister was waiting to see if more meetings between himself and his French, Russian, and Ukrainian counterparts were possible. A previous meeting between these parties did not result in any concrete gains.
