Wolfgang Ischinger, the former head of the Munich Conference, criticized the political forces in Germany, who are calling to stop providing aid to Ukraine “so that peace can come”.
Wolfgang Ischinger emphasized that it is not a time of pushing Ukraine towards negotiations with Russia now because that would be tantamount to partial capitulation to the aggressor, and that the decision on when to start negotiations should be made only by Ukraine. He expressed this opinion in a column published in Tagesspiegel.
Speaking about this, Ischinger mentioned, in particular, large actions in Berlin: “Manifesto for Peace” organized by German author and feminist leader Alice Schwarzer and the far-left Left Party politician Sahra Wagenknecht. The “manifesto” calls on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to support negotiations between Russia and Ukraine and opposes arms deliveries to Ukraine.
However, Ischinger does not deny readiness for peace negotiations with Russia, thus he calls for the creation of an international political and strategic contact group to prepare for future negotiations between Ukraine and Russia on ending the war no earlier than Ukraine decides.
He proposes to include in this format primarily the USA, Great Britain, France, Germany, which could unite around other partners, in particular Canada, Poland, Spain, Italy, the Baltic States, and also involve key international organizations — the UN, OSCE, EU and NATO.