Ex-ambassador Melnyk has often caused discussions with his direct statements. His successor Makeiev is now announcing a new style. The first step: build trust. As a "fighter on the diplomatic front" he then wants to appeal to the government.
The new Ukrainian ambassador in Berlin, Oleksii Makeiev, has distanced himself from the style of his controversial predecessor Andriy Melnyk. "My main goal is to build trust. For a diplomat, trust is the most important thing," he told the Funke media group newspapers. "If a diplomat loses trust, he's no longer a diplomat. I want to be open-minded, convincing and combative." He hopes one day this will be called the Makeiev style.
Grateful to his predecessors, Makeiev added, for "putting Ukraine at the center of attention here in Germany." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy describes his ambassadors as fighters on the diplomatic front. "My job is to motivate the Germans and their government to help us and that we are not alone in this war," he said.
The new ambassador demands that the West continue to make it clear to Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin what the consequences of the use of nuclear weapons would be. "Putin needs to be told that using nuclear weapons is not an option," Makeiev told the Funke group. "The answer from the whole world would be very clear - and would force Putin to withdraw," he suspected. Despite the threatening gestures, one must approach Russia "from a position of strength," Makeiev warned. "Otherwise Moscow will keep going. After the annexation of Crimea, Germany was also afraid to provoke Russia. Ukraine was left alone. We are now seeing the result."
Makeiev ruled out negotiations with Putin. 'We have no choice but to fight back and push back the Russians. The Russians want to annihilate Ukraine,' he said. 'This is absolutely genocidal warfare. Russia commits genocide. We fight to survive.'
