Germany’s Backroom Efforts to End Russian Invasion of Ukraine: A Closer Look at Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Comments

As German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has stated in an interview with the newspaper Märkische Allgemeine Zeitung, several countries, including Ukraine, are currently discussing how to initiate peace negotiations to bring an end to the Russian invasion. While Scholz did not specify which governments were involved in these discussions, he noted that they would take place discreetly. The Ukrainian press reacted strongly to Scholz’s comments, particularly following his previous statements in February revealing the presence of British and French soldiers operating long-range missiles in Ukraine.

The official stance of the Ukrainian Presidency is that there is no direct contact with Russia, and the only viable path to peace is through President Volodymyr Zelensky’s 10-point peace proposal, which includes the withdrawal of Russian troops from the occupied territory within Ukraine. However, Scholz emphasized that negotiations have taken place between Ukraine and Russia with the assistance of international mediators, leading to agreements on issues like prisoner exchanges and security measures.

The United States and European powers, led by Germany and France, maintain that Ukraine should determine the terms and conditions for negotiations to end the conflict. While Scholz acknowledged that negotiations have been ongoing between Ukraine and Russia with international support, he also emphasized that there were still significant challenges ahead in achieving a lasting peace agreement. The German Social Democrats have been working to counter French militaristic tendencies towards Russia, with Scholz rejecting proposals to send troops to Ukraine or supply long-range missiles. However, Germany remains a key military ally to Ukraine second only to the United States in terms of support.

Recently, there have been reports of German mediation efforts aimed at preventing a Russian nuclear attack on Ukraine in late 2022. According to these reports, German authorities enlisted Chinese President Xi Jinping’s help in urging Putin against resorting to nuclear weapons, which reportedly halted any threat of an attack. These developments underscore the complexity and high stakes of the conflict in Ukraine as well as ongoing efforts by Germany and other countries around the world to find a diplomatic solution.