Zelensky to meet presidents of Poland and Germany

President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet Poland’s
president Andrzej Duda in New York on Sept. 21, Poland’s presidential website reported
on Sept 20. They will also meet with the presidents of Georgia and Moldova. The
meeting will take place on the sideline of the 76th Session of the UN General
Assembly.

Zelensky will also host president of Germany
Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Oct. 6, Interfax-Ukraine reported on Sept. 20. The
two will attend the remembrance of the 80th anniversary of the massacres at
Babyn Yar in Kyiv.

James Hydzik: Zelensky is
riding a wave of diplomacy that will hopefully not be a high-water mark for his
presidency. He has willing support from Poland, which itself is acting on the
need to take a lead in strengthening CEE diplomatic affairs. And in the near
term, Steinmeier’s informal role in German politics as overseeing the
transition to Chancellor Merkel’s replacement makes contact with him vital.

One thing that is unclear regarding Steinmeier’s visit
is the current administration’s ability to reframe Germany’s picture of the
Holocaust and the invasion of the Soviet Union, as German rhetoric from some
corners has a tendency to speak of the need to atone for atrocities commited
‘against the Russian people’.

Having a Jewish president of Ukraine hammer home
the message that the Holocaust of Bullets started in Kyiv, the birthplace of
the fourth Prime Minister of Israel, and that the history of the war is more
complex than the Kremlin would have people believe, could be powerful and
highlight both the current state of Ukrainian society as well as prevent the
expansion of the pro-Russian inaccuracy during this transition. However, there
is little indication that this will be the case.