German Chancellor Angela Merkel,a key mediator in the conflict between pro-Russia separatists and Ukraine, will visit Kiev weeks before she leaves office, the Ukrainian presidency said on Monday, APA reports citing DW.
Berlin has been a key ally to Kiev since 2014 when Moscow annexed Crimea and pro-Russia separatists broke away from Ukraine, sparking a rumbling conflict that has so far claimed more than 13,000 lives.
The separatists are widely seen as having Russia’s political and military backing, though Moscow denies the claims.
Germany, France, Ukraine and Russia together comprise the so-called Normandy format, a grouping that tries to resolve the conflict.
“German Chancellor Angela Merkel intends to visit Ukraine on August 22,” Sergiy Nykyforov, a spokesman to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said on Facebook.
He said the topics of negotiations would include security and bilateral relations.
Her visit comes as Ukraine gets ready to celebrate the 30th anniversary of its declaration of independence from the Soviet Union on August 24, a split that helped trigger the collapse of the communist bloc.
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