Zelensky goes to Berlin in prelude to Washington trip

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to
Berlin on July 11 for a two-day working visit, the president’s office posted on
Facebook on the same day. Zelensky met with German President Frank-Walter
Steinmeier on the morning of July 12, and has dinner with Chancellor Angela
Merkel that evening, pravda.com.ua reported.

At dinner, Zelensky expects to explain to Merkel about
the strategic importance of Ukraine’s Gas Transit System and of the
continuation of Russian gas flows through it. After dinner, the two leaders
will issue statements.

James Hydzik: The
meetings and dinner are part of the orchestration of positions before Merkel
and Zelensky fly to Washington to meet U.S. President Joe Biden. The
preparation extends beyond the heads of state, though with Ukraine’s agreement
with the IMF shaping up over the weekend as well, as we reported today.

The moves represent a serious change in the manner
in which Ukraine and its partners act. The level of preparation and the
formalization of relations is unseen in the last eight years. At stake is a
convergence of geopolitics, fuel-and-energy warfare and environmental protection
that, if Ukraine becomes a major green hydrogen producer, could be an easily
comprehended transformation on the order of Ukraine’s resurgence as an
agricultural powerhouse.