Germany Ukraine summit in Ramstein postponed

Following the postponement of US President Joe Biden's visit to Germany, the Ukraine summit originally planned for Saturday at the US Air Force base in Ramstein, Rhineland-Palatinate, will also take place at a later date. Announcements about future meetings of the Contact Group for the Defense of Ukraine will follow, according to the US command in Ramstein.

German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit confirmed this: "There will be no meeting at the level of heads of state and government in Ramstein." A four-way meeting planned for Saturday, in which French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer were to take part alongside Scholz and Biden, will also not take place.

Biden had postponed his trip due to the dangerous hurricane "Milton" heading for the US state of Florida. Around 20 heads of state and government were expected to attend the meeting in Ramstein, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) had already shown understanding for Biden's decision on Wednesday. "If such storms were raging in my country, then I would also make this decision," he said in the program "RTL Direkt spezial - Am Tisch mit Olaf Scholz". It would have been "a very important meeting", but it would be made up for."

Biden announced a telephone call with Scholz to find an alternative date. Like the US President, Secretary of State Antony Blinken also canceled his trip to Germany.

SDA