Merkel explains date of her visit to Kyiv

Merkel said this at a briefing following a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

She noted that today's meeting took place on the eve of the 30th anniversary of Ukraine's Independence. According to her, this is a good but problematic date due to the difficult events that Ukraine has experienced.

"And the Crimea Platform will play an important role tomorrow. Unfortunately, our Minister of Foreign Affairs will not be able to arrive tomorrow [at the Crimea Platform summit] because the situation in Afghanistan is very difficult… Our Minister of Economic Affairs and Energy will arrive, and important talks on energy policy will be held on the sidelines of the Crimea Platform summit tomorrow," Merkel said.

Commenting on a journalist's assumption that she would not personally participate in the Crimea Platform summit because of the desire to "please Russia", the Federal Chancellor said, "no, it [non-participation in the summit] does not indicate that."

"I have made it clear that we consider the annexation of Crimea a violation of international law, and nothing has changed. The reason for my visit, which is taking place ahead of the Crimea Platform, was to discuss both the Minsk Agreements and the Normandy format," the German Chancellor said.

According to Merkel, this is such a farewell bilateral visit as she is unlikely to come to Ukraine as the Federal Chancellor any more.

"That's why we said that our foreign minister would attend the Crimea Platform and I would arrive the day before. The fact that our foreign minister will not come now is not related to our relations with Russia, it is linked only to the current situation in Afghanistan," Merkel said.

As reported, German Chancellor Angela Merkel made a visit to Moscow on August 20, before paying a visit to Kyiv.

The inaugural summit of the Crimea Platform, a new consultative and coordination format initiated by Ukraine to increase the effectiveness of the international response to the temporary occupation of Crimea, step up international pressure on Russia, and achieve the main goal of de-occupation of Crimea and restoration of Ukraine’s sovereignty over the peninsula, will take place on August 23.

ol