One can hardly refer to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz as an “offended liverwurst,” considering that when Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Andrey Melnik called him that, Scholz didn’t appear offended at all, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday.
The minister was referring to a series of exchanges between Kiev and Berlin over the Ukrainian government’s refusal to welcome German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier for a state visit in April. Scholz responded by declining to come as well, and the Ukrainian ambassador resorted to name calling in retaliation.
“His boorishness has long become notorious. Politicians in Germany who have kept their dignity have drawn attention to him on multiple occasions,” Lavrov said when asked about the diplomatic spat during an educational event. The question came from a student of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, a leading university in Russia.
Scholz “was not offended by it, so the word ‘offended’ can be removed from this formula,” the Russian official added, referring to the German leader’s refusal to pay much heed to Melnik’s remark.