Felix Klein, the German Federal Government's Commissioner for Anti-Semitism, urged Ukraine to join the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) after Ukrainian Ambassador Andrei Melnik's statements about Stepan Bandera. This was reported by DPA.

"This intergovernmental organization is the proper forum where the issues raised by Mr. Melnyk can be discussed in detail in an international way," Klein said.

He added that it was the Ukrainian ambassador's words that could be the occasion for Kiev's quick accession, while Ukraine has not previously expressed a desire to join the IHRA.

According to Klein, Melnyk's statements are problematic because they "fuel the Russian narrative in the current conflict and tend to cause discord and misunderstanding among friendly nations."

As a reminder, last week in an interview with journalist Thilo Jung, the Ukrainian diplomat commented on the historical disputes between Poland and Ukraine regarding Stepan Bandera. "There is no evidence that Banderites killed Jews," said Melnyk, who also noted that this is a narrative promoted by Russia.

When, at a certain point in the conversation, the journalist said he did not understand how a man responsible for killing Poles and Jews could be called a "hero," Melnik strongly denied this view and stated that Bandera was not a mass murderer.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry then explained that Melnik's words were not the official position of Kyiv, and Dmytro Kuleba had a telephone conversation with his Polish counterpart Zbigniew Rau.