Germany puts no pressure on Ukraine to negotiate with Russia

Information about the alleged pressure on Ukraine has recently appeared on the pages of the German magazine Der Spiegel. It was about a secret "Russian supper" at the German Embassy in Washington in late October, during which German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's closest aide, Chief of Staff Wolfgang Schmidt, "euphorically" praised the proposal of American researcher Samuel Charap to end the war in Ukraine through imposed negotiations with Moscow.

In a podcast interview with the German public broadcaster RRB, Ukraine's Ambassador to Berlin Oleksii Makeiev denied that the German government is pushing Kyiv to agree to peace talks with Russia that could lead to the permanent loss of Ukrainian territory. According to him, the pressure "was also not happening behind closed doors."

A spokesperson for the German Chancellery told Politico that Schmidt rejected the "unfounded assertions" in the Spiegel report.

In early December, German Chancellor's Foreign and Security Policy Advisor Jens Plotner wrote in a joint article with the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak, that "a simple ceasefire today would be tantamount to legitimizing Russia's seizure of territory and preparing for another frozen conflict."

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and other Western leaders have repeatedly emphasized that Kyiv should decide when and under what conditions it concludes a peace agreement with Moscow.

The idea of peace talks between Ukraine and Russia

In the past year, the Kremlin and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin have repeatedly declared their readiness to conclude a peace agreement with Ukraine and end hostilities. However, Moscow is demanding peace on its own terms - to legitimize Russia's occupation of the occupied territories.

Recently, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed diplomats and urged them to work on increasing the supply of weapons to Ukraine. According to him, our country needs more weapons because no one is going to give up.

Recently, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the head of the Presidential Office, called on the world to stop living under illusions and try to find "any other solution" than Russia's defeat.

At the same time, The New York Times reported that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin allegedly sends "signals" to the West about his desire to freeze the war in Ukraine and start negotiations. The cessation of hostilities should be on the Kremlin's terms, which include the recognition of the occupied territories by Moscow.

However, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry emphasized that the war should be ended on Ukraine's terms and following international law.

Last week, Putin said that he did not want to discuss peace with Ukraine until he achieved his goals in the war.