The European Parliament had planned to send a delegation to Kyiv in early December, but the visit was canceled because Ukrainian authorities objected to the participation of a member of the German far-right party, Politico reports.
The members of the EP’s Security and Defense Committee were scheduled to travel to Ukraine on the 1st of December. However, Ukrainian authorities contacted the European Union institution beforehand to express security concerns, as the delegation also included Hans Neuhoff, a member of the German far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). According to Neuhoff and two anonymous EP officials, the trip has been canceled.
Neuhoff told Politico that the trip was canceled because of Ukraine’s objections. He said Kyiv had first informed the office of EP President Robert Metsola of its concerns and plans to bar him from entering Ukraine. It passed the information on to the Security and Defence Committee, which in turn informed him.
Neuhoff has travelled to Russia several times in recent years, and last November visited Sochi in Russia-annexed Crimea. The politician has previously said that any peace plan between Moscow and Kyiv should address the root cause of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in the first place; he has also said that Ukraine should abandon its plan to join NATO. Such statements are seen as echoing the Kremlin’s position.
Neuhoff explained his position in a statement to Politico, stating that he was neutral.
At the same time, the politician criticized the EU’s approach to arming Ukraine, saying it was a serious mistake that was damaging the bloc’s relations with Moscow. In a letter to the EP president, seen by Politico, Neuhoff denied any ties to Moscow and called on Metsola to file a formal complaint with Kyiv over the entry ban. He also defended his decision to keep his seat on the delegation, which prevented him from making the planned visit.
The politician said Ukrainian authorities had failed to provide evidence they claimed to have that he posed a security risk and had ties to the Kremlin, or that he had ever visited the Russian-occupied Donbas region. Neuhoff stressed that all allegations of political ties to the Kremlin and illegal presence in Donbas were false.
Ukraine’s Interior Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
Read also: With power so close, Germany’s far right seeks to improve its image