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German Chancellor Scholz 'planning trip to Kyiv'

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German Chancellor Scholz 'planning trip to Kyiv'
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate lit up in the colours of the Ukraine flag in May. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Michael Kappeler

Chancellor Olaf Scholz is to visit war-torn Ukraine before the G7 summit at the end of June, according to a German media report.

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Scholz is planning a joint trip with French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Bild am Sonntag reported, citing Ukrainian and French government circles.

According to the newspaper, the governments in Paris and Berlin have been negotiating a joint visit to Ukraine capital Kyiv for some time, but Macron wanted to wait until after the French parliamentary elections.

The visit will likely take place before a summit of G7 leaders being held at Schloss Elmau in the Bavarian Alps, which is due to start on June 26th. 

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Scholz, Macron and Draghi want to send a signal of European unity with their trip, sources said.

At the moment, however, both the German and French governments have not confirmed the report.

Several world leaders - including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson - have visited Ukraine since the start of the war, but Scholz has so far not made the trip. 

He was caught in a row earlier this year after German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier admitted he had offered to go to Ukraine with other EU leaders, but this was “not wanted in Kyiv” due to his perceived links to Russia during his time in government. 

Scholz said that this stood in the way of his plans to go to Kyiv. Ukraine officials then accused Scholz of sulking

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later invited both Scholz and Steinmeier, who belong to the Social Democrats (SPD), to Ukraine. 

READ ALSO: Zelensky invites Scholz and Steinmeier to visit Ukraine 

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) became the first cabinet minister to visit Ukraine when she spent time in the suburb of Bucha in May

Other German ministers, including Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir (Greens) and CDU leader Friedrich Merz, have also visited the war-hit country. 

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