In Search of Peace: Germany’s Discreet Efforts to End Russia-Ukraine Conflict”.

As tensions rise between Russia and Ukraine, several countries, including Germany, are privately discussing how to initiate peace negotiations. According to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who spoke with the newspaper Märkische Allgemeine Zeitung on Thursday, discussions on this matter would be conducted discreetly. While Scholz did not specify which governments are involved in these talks, he mentioned that there is a series of countries, including Ukraine, discussing with defense advisors how a peace process could be initiated.

The Ukrainian press responded strongly to Scholz’s comments. Last February, his 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 that 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 it occupies 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. According to Scholz, 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 international mediators such as prisoner exchanges and security at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

However, 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 disagreement; 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 an agreement between Russia and Norway during their meeting at Oslo Airport in August 2021 where they agreed on a new Arctic cooperation treaty.

In conclusion, while several countries are privately discussing how to initiate peace negotiations with Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, there is no consensus yet among them on what should happen next or how it can be achieved.