German foreign minister will visit Ukraine shortly, chancellor says

BERLIN - German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock will visit Ukraine shortly, after the two countries mended a diplomatic rift over Kyiv's refusal to receive German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Thursday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Steinmeier held "good talks" earlier on Thursday, Scholz told a news conference.

The German head of state had planned to visit the Ukrainian capital in mid-April but Kyiv refused to welcome him, amid disquiet over his past support of rapprochement with Russia.

Kyiv's refusal caused a scandal in Germany and prompted Scholz to say he would not visit the war-torn country before the German president had done so.