“Putin remains a conversation partner”
Scholz sees years of war in Ukraine
April 20, 2024, 12:51 a.m
The Russian air strikes on Ukrainian cities are devastating. NATO chief Stoltenberg explains the will of the member states to strengthen the air defense of the attacked country. However, Chancellor Scholz does not believe in a quick end to the war. He therefore wants to leave one option open.
From Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s perspective, the war in Ukraine could drag on for several more years. Nobody can say whether this war could last five years, said Scholz in Chemnitz. He defended Germany’s military support for Ukraine. In addition, it is important to cultivate diplomacy. Since the beginning of the war, Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown no movement. Scholz emphasized that a dictated peace cannot be accepted: “He cannot get away with this.”
According to the Chancellor, Russia’s allies also doubt the sense of the invasion of Ukraine. “There is practically no head of government in the world who believes that this Russian war makes any sense from a Russian perspective,” said Scholz in the evening at a “Freie Presse” event in Chemnitz. “And not even from those who are very close to Russia,” added the Chancellor, who had just held talks with President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Qiang in China.
Scholz praised the fact that the Chinese leadership had openly declared itself ready for a diplomatic process to end the war and viewed a possible peace conference in Switzerland positively. “This is a result that cannot be underestimated and more than anyone could have expected three months ago or six ago,” he added.
Switzerland is planning a peace summit for June 15th and 16th to which it wants to invite around 100 countries, including Ukraine. Russia should not be there, but countries friendly to Russia such as China, Brazil and South Africa should be.
Putin’s imperialist goals
Scholz also emphasized that he was ready to speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin again on the phone about the war in Ukraine, but made this subject to conditions. “I haven’t spoken to the Russian president for about a year now, but I always said I wouldn’t rule it out and would do it again,” said the Chancellor. “But of course it has to be somehow clear what you’re talking about.” Scholz once again accused Putin of pursuing imperialist goals and of still questioning Ukraine’s existence as a state.
Scholz was a guest at a panel discussion organized by the “Freie Presse” entitled “Germany under pressure. How can the traffic light coalition act under new conditions?” According to the information, the debate was followed on site by around 200 readers of the newspaper, as well as other invited guests. The conversation could also be seen via live stream on the Internet.