Aachen.
The people of Ukraine and their President are awarded the Charlemagne Prize. Volodymyr Selenskyj may come to NRW himself.
The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Selenskyj will possibly travel to NRW in May. It would be his first visit to Germany since the Russian attack on Ukraine. The reason for the trip would be Presentation of the Charlemagne Prize of the City of Aachen.
The organizers are preparing for Selenskyj to personally take part in the ceremony in the coronation hall of Aachen City Hall, even if this will only be decided at short notice depending on the situation in the war zone. The “Bild am Sonntag” reported at Easter that Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) wants to give the laudatory speech. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has also been announced as a speaker.
Selenskyj was last in Germany in 2021
Zelenskyi had not traveled abroad at all for the first ten months after the invasion. He then flew to Washington just before Christmas to meet US President Joe Biden. On the way back he stopped in Poland and met the head of state Andrzej Duda there. Visits to London, Paris, Brussels and finally Warsaw followed. The Ukrainian President was last in Germany in July 2021 to visit the then Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU).
The Charlemagne Prize of the City of Aachen has been awarded to personalities since 1950 deserved for the unity of Europe have. The Board of Directors had already decided in December that Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people should be honored with the renowned prize this year.
Shortly before Easter, the city of Aachen announced that the Zelenskyj’s participation is still “completely open” may be. But prepare for such a scenario. Personal participation depends “strongly on the then prevailing war situation and the corresponding security concepts”. If Selenskyj cannot attend in person, he should be connected via video. Planning is also underway for this variant.
Other international heads of state could also come
The Chancellery would neither confirm nor deny the report that the Chancellor was present at the award ceremony at the weekend. “The dates of Chancellor are usually announced on Friday of the previous week as part of the government press conference,” said a government spokeswoman.
If Scholz travels to Aachen, it could be that he gets company from two neighboring countries. There is speculation that out Poland Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki or President Andrzej Duda as well as from France President Emmanuel Macron could arrive.
Scholz and Selenskyj have met twice since the beginning of the war
In order to enable international guests to participate, the date for the award ceremony has already been postponed. It will not take place on Ascension Day (May 18) as usual, but four days earlier. The city of Aachen announced that this should prevent “an overlap with a relevant event on the following day”. What is meant is probably the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, which begins on May 19 – the day after Ascension Day. In order to arrive on time, you have to depart from Europe the day before. Among others, von der Leyen, Scholz and Macron will take part in the summit.
The chancellor has met Selenskyj in person twice since the beginning of the war. In June he visited him in Kiev together with Macron, then Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis. In February, Macron and Scholz then met the Ukrainian President together in Paris. (dpa)
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