Olaf Scholz pledges Ukraine is exploring avenues for peace talks with Russia

Several countries, including Ukraine, are currently discussing how to initiate peace negotiations to put an end to the Russian invasion. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz made this statement in an interview with the newspaper Märkische Allgemeine Zeitung on Thursday. While Scholz did not specify which governments are considering a negotiated end to the war, he mentioned that discussions on this matter would be conducted discreetly. He stated, “There are a series of countries, including Ukraine, discussing at the level of defense advisors how a peace process could be initiated.”

The Ukrainian press responded strongly to the German chancellor’s comments. Last February, Scholz’s remarks about the presence of British and French soldiers operating long-range missiles in Ukraine sparked controversy. The official position of the Ukrainian Presidency is that there is no direct contact with Russia, and the only path to peace is through President Volodymyr Zelensky’s 10-point proposal. This proposal emphasizes that negotiations are not possible unless Moscow withdraws its troops from the 25% of Ukraine’s territory that it is occupying illegally.

The United States and European powers, led by Germany and France, currently believe that Ukraine should determine the terms and conditions for negotiations to end the conflict. Scholz noted that the simplest way to halt the war would be for Russian President Vladimir Putin to order his army to leave Ukraine. He also mentioned that both sides have previously negotiated on various issues with the help of international mediators, such as prisoner exchanges and security at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

The German Social Democrats (SPD) have been sending messages to counter French aggression towards Russia. Chancellor Scholz has firmly opposed French President Emmanuel Macron’s idea of sending troops to Ukraine and supplying long-range missiles to Kyiv. Despite this, Germany remains Ukraine’s second-largest military ally after the United States. Scholz has emphasized his commitment to preventing a war between NATO and Russia and stated that he will do everything possible in this regard.

Scholz also made headlines recently for mediating to prevent a Russian nuclear attack on Ukraine at the end of 2022. According to the SPD’s Rolf Mützenich, Chancellor Scholz asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to communicate to Putin that atomic weapons should never be used. Xi reportedly intervened with Putin and deterred the threat. These developments shed light on the complex diplomatic efforts being made to address the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.