BERLIN:
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called Sunday for diplomatic efforts to be intensified to achieve peace in Ukraine “more quickly”, as the war grinds through its third year.
The call comes as Scholz is under growing pressure at home amid signs of public fatigue with the conflict that started with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
“I believe that now is the time to discuss how we can get out of this war situation and achieve peace more quickly,” Scholz told public broadcaster ZDF, in an annual summer interview.
The far-right AfD and far-left BSW parties – who both want to end weapons deliveries to Ukraine – made huge gains in two regional elections in Germany last week, while Scholz’s coalition parties received a bruising.
Germany is the second largest contributor of aid to Ukraine after the United States, and Scholz’s government has repeatedly pledged to keep up the support for “as long as it takes”.
Scholz said Russia should attend the next international peace summit on ending the war, after Moscow was excluded from the first one.
“It’s important that we make progress,” Scholz said.
“There will definitely be another peace conference,” he said, “and the (Ukrainian) president and I agree that it must include Russia”.
Leaders and top officials from more than 90 states gathered in Switzerland in June for a first summit organised by Ukraine, while Russia was not invited.
Kyiv is aiming for a second peace summit this year, and President Volodymyr Zelensky said in late July Russia should be present in order to achieve “meaningful results”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday he was ready for talks with Ukraine, after having previously rebuffed the idea of negotiations while Kyiv’s counter-offensive into Russia’s Kursk region was ongoing.
The Kremlin has in the past insisted any peace deal would need to force Kyiv to surrender territory that Moscow claims as its own – an unacceptable condition for Ukraine.
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