OREANDA-NEWS The head of the President's Office, Andrei Ermak, confirmed the reports of German journalists about the conversation between Volodymir Zelensky and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Ermak said that the conversation really took place, the details will be announced later. At the same time, he noted that «Germany remains a strong ally of Ukraine». «There will be an official announcement about the details, I can only say that the Russian's hope for a split in the unity of Europe in support of Ukraine is useless», Yermak said.

According to German media, Zelensky had a conversation with German President Steinmeier and the parties «agreed to leave the past behind». Paul Ronzheimer, deputy editor of Bild, writes about this. «The parties agreed to leave the past behind in order to focus on future cooperation», he wrote.

According to Spiegel, the conversation lasted about 45 minutes. The German President assured Zelensky of Germany's full support. On April 12, Zelensky refused to accept Steinmeier because of his ties with Russia. It is known that the President of Germany planned to visit Ukraine a day after the refusal. The Office of the President of Germany reported receiving «a clear statement from Kiev that there is no readiness for a meeting at the moment».

Later, Vice-Chancellor of Germany, Minister of Economic Affairs Robert Habeck called the decision of the Ukrainian leadership not to receive the German president in Kiev a diplomatic mistake. He pointed out that it was not supposed to be a visit by a private person, but by the president of the country. He compared the refusal to Steinmeier with the refusal to the country itself.