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A senior German lawmaker has called on the Ukrainian government to not "interfere" in Germany's domestic politics.
The broadside follows a diplomatic row between Berlin and Kyiv after a proposed trip by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to the war-torn country was rejected by the Ukrainian leadership.
Steinmeier had hoped to make the journey to Kyiv alongside the presidents of Poland, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. But speaking to reporters in Warsaw, said his trip was called off.
"I was ready for it. But apparently – and I have to admit – that was not wanted in Kyiv," he told reporters.
The four other leaders traveled to Kyiv by train on Wednesday to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Responding to the snub, the leader of the governing SPD party's parliamentary faction, Rolf Mützenich, criticized the decision to not allow Steinmeier to join.
"With all due respect for the existential threat to Ukraine from the Russian invasion, I expect Ukrainian representatives to adhere to a minimum of diplomatic conventions and not interfere unduly in our country's domestic politics," he said.
President admits "mistakes"
Steinmeier's record on Russia has faced increased scrutiny in recent weeks. The 66-year-old was previously Germany's Foreign Minister under Angela Merkel, and a vocal supporter of enhancing diplomatic relations with Russia. He also supported the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
"My adherence to Nord Stream 2 was clearly a mistake," he previously told broadcaster ZDF. "We failed on many points. It is true that we should have taken the warnings of our eastern European partners more seriously, particularly regarding the time after 2014."
Ukraine's president has previously said Germany ignored warnings about the dangers of keeping close economic ties with the Kremlin.
"We told you that Nord Stream was a kind of preparation for the war. And the answer we got was that is is purely economic," Zelenskyy told German lawmakers in a special address to Parliament last month.
Chancellor backs president
Kyiv's latest decision to reject a visit from Germany's head of state has also drawn the ire of the Chancellor.
"The president would have liked to go to Ukraine and would have visited the president," Scholz said. "It would have been good to receive him. I don't want to comment further. It is a little irritating, to be polite about it," Scholz told RBB public radio.
Asked if he himself planned a visit to Kyiv, Scholz said he was in more regular contact with Zelenskyy than almost any other Western politician.
（CGTN）
