The head of the Ukrainian negotiating delegation and Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Rustem Umerov, is on a working visit to Berlin, but there is no talk of any emergency and closed negotiations against the backdrop of the likelihood of an attack on Kyiv and Russia's threats to “destroy” the city, as the media reported.
This was reported to journalists by the press service of a Ukrainian official, Suspilne reports.
They confirmed that Umerov works in Berlin and met with the German Chancellor's advisor on foreign policy and security, Günter Sautter.
“We discussed security issues, the negotiation process, as well as defense cooperation, in particular regarding the Drone Deal between Ukraine and Germany. The issue of “limited membership in the EU” was not discussed,” the press service of the NSDC secretary said.
Regarding the emergency and closed negotiations, as reported by the media the day before, Umerov denied this information.
“There is no emergency meeting. Normal scheduled work with European colleagues. Yesterday was Brussels, today – Berlin. Also this week there will be several more European capitals,” the official's press service said.
Previously, Politico reported on alleged emergency and closed negotiations in Berlin between Umerov and the national security advisers of Germany, France, and the United Kingdom amid threats from the Russian authorities to attack Kyiv.
On May 25, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had a telephone conversation. During the conversation, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Lavrov conveyed the Kremlin's position on the Russian-Ukrainian war and stated that in response to attacks on Russian territory, its armed forces are allegedly “launching systematic and consistent strikes” on facilities in Kyiv used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as on so-called decision-making centers.
The Russian Foreign Ministry also stated that Lavrov drew the attention of the American side to the recommendations regarding the evacuation of diplomatic personnel from Kyiv, which were addressed to the United States and other states.
On May 26, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the suggestion that Russia had allegedly called on Washington to withdraw embassy personnel from Kyiv amid Moscow's announced strikes on Ukrainian territory an exaggeration.