After the dismissal of the controversial ambassador Andriy Melnyk, it is now clear who will represent Ukraine in Germany in the future: the government in Kyiv has made a so-called agrément request for Oleksiy Makeyev, a spokesman for the Federal Foreign Office said. This agreement had already been granted by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. According to information from “Welt”, the 46-year-old diplomat, who speaks fluent German, is scheduled to take office on October 15.
According to the newspaper, Makeyev studied international relations at the Kyiv State University and entered the diplomatic service at the age of 21. He had also worked as a diplomat in Berlin. In 2014, according to the “Welt”, he was appointed head of the political department of the Kiev Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He has been the Ukrainian government’s special representative for international sanctions policy for two years.
The agrément now granted by Steinmeier is an important step in the accreditation process for new ambassadors. Makejev can now enter Germany and hand over his credentials to the Federal President. Only then is accreditation complete.
The outgoing Ambassador Melnyk has held this post since the end of 2014. In early July, Ukrainian head of state Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree dismissing him. According to information from FOCUS Online, he is to become one of several Ukrainian deputy foreign ministers after the handover in Berlin.
The diplomat had repeatedly and sharply criticized German politics in view of the Russian war of aggression in his home country and accused the German government of being too hesitant, particularly when it came to supplying arms to Kyiv. He often caused a stir with his statements, for example when he called Scholz an “offended liverwurst”.
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