MOSCOW: Olaf Scholz started talking about peace
Why did the German Chancellor decide to present his own version
of the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict
Olaf Scholz is preparing a peace plan for Ukraine. It includes territorial concessions from Kiev. La Repubblica newspaper writes about the strategy being developed by the German Chancellor. On September 8, Scholz, in an interview with the German TV channel ZDF, said that a ceasefire could be achieved faster than it now seems. He called for speeding up negotiations and added that the second world summit should be held with the participation of Moscow.
Is it worth talking about the approaching settlement of the conflict and a potential ceasefire? Irina Kobrinskaya, a leading researcher at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences, believes that there are prerequisites for this: "Apparently, all this has moved to some new stage, and the peace agenda is obviously on the table. The fact that Scholz talked about it is probably even more relevant. What is the reason for this? Most likely, the results of the elections in the landtags, which became quite shocking for Berlin. These results indicate that the sentiment in favor of achieving peace in Germany is very strong.
I have a feeling that somehow the negotiations were going on and are going on at lower levels. I doubt that Scholz said this without coordinating with his NATO allies. It's probably being talked about too. He is not exactly appointed speaker from the North Atlantic Alliance, but this is the first time this has been voiced from the German side. At the same time, both sides can be equally unyielding, but Kiev can be under very strong, direct pressure. It is very simple to make Ukraine more compliant — you need to give less weapons."
Last weekend, the far-right Alternative for Germany party won the regional elections in Germany for the first time since the beginning of the XXI century. She took first place in the voting in Thuringia and second in Saxony. The party calls for stopping the supply of weapons to Ukraine and launching a negotiation process between Kiev and Moscow. According to the newspaper La Repubblica, Olaf Scholz may change his position on supporting Ukraine due to the failure in the elections in order to strengthen his position.
However, most of the German residents are still in favor of maintaining the volume of aid, said Vladislav Belov, head of the Department of Country Studies at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences: "Scholz still insists on the territorial integrity of Ukraine. How it is interpreted is known from the position of Vladimir Zelensky. Indeed, the German Chancellor expressed support for the President of Ukraine in terms of the need for peace talks.
It is probably too early to say that Scholz was influenced by the elections in Saxony and Thuringia, whose share of voters is about 8%. The low performance of the German Chancellor is not a position on Ukraine. Of course, there are losses there, but statistically there is no information yet about the share of the Ukrainian issue, peace issues, and European security in the fall to historically low lows in the popularity of both the government and Scholz. Yes, the share of the electorate that agrees with the coalition in terms of support for Ukraine is decreasing. The mood of the electorate is changing, but again, according to polls, so far the respondents are on the side of continuing comprehensive assistance to Ukraine."
However, most of the German residents are still in favor of maintaining the volume of aid, said Vladislav Belov, head of the Department of Country Studies at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences: "Scholz still insists on the territorial integrity of Ukraine. How it is interpreted is known from the position of Vladimir Zelensky. Indeed, the German Chancellor expressed support for the President of Ukraine in terms of the need for peace talks.
It is probably too early to say that Scholz was influenced by the elections in Saxony and Thuringia, whose share of voters is about 8%. The low performance of the German Chancellor is not a position on Ukraine. Of course, there are losses there, but statistically there is no information yet about the share of the Ukrainian issue, peace issues, and European security in the fall to historically low lows in the popularity of both the government and Scholz. Yes, the share of the electorate that agrees with the coalition in terms of support for Ukraine is decreasing. The mood of the electorate is changing, but again, according to polls, so far the respondents are on the side of continuing comprehensive assistance to Ukraine."
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