Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis (61) arrived in Kiev on Thursday morning. This is confirmed by the views of two individuals independently of each other. He traveled by train from Poland to Ukraine in the night from Wednesday to Thursday.
Cassis himself tweeted a photo shortly after 8 a.m. showing his arrival by train in Kiev, writing: “Back in Ukraine, a year after my last visit.” He wanted to get a picture of the war situation on the ground, the humanitarian situation and the preparatory work for reconstruction.
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According to information from Blick, the head of the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) wants to stay in the war-ravaged country for nearly 24 hours.
Several meetings with senior government officials of Ukraine are planned. It is not known whether he will meet President Volodymyr Zelensky (44).
Discussions continue at the Ukraine Recovery Conference, which took place in Lugano TI in July. The Federal President would like to talk about Switzerland’s humanitarian aid in Ukraine and the reconstruction of the devastated country.
The FDFA declined to comment on the visit to Ukraine.
Steinmeier canceled the visit – for safety reasons
German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (66) has canceled his planned visit to Kiev, Bild reports. Thursday’s visit had actually been arranged for weeks.
According to “Bild”, Steinmeier canceled the trip for “security reasons”. A Ukrainian government official told the newspaper: “While the federal president is canceling his visit, there are many international diplomats and guests who now want to show their presence in the capital.”
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