Berlin needs to intensify its diplomatic efforts if it wishes for the ongoing conflict between Moscow and Kiev to come to an end, German MP Sahra Wagenknecht told Funke Media Group on Friday. She argued that merely providing more weapons for Ukraine would not bring peace to Europe.
The veteran politician has frequently criticized Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government over its stance on the Ukraine conflict, stating that Berlin’s current policy only serves to escalate the war further. We need more diplomatic efforts,” said Wagenknecht, who was previously a member of the Left Party’s parliamentary faction and established her own party – the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) – this year.
There is a good peace plan by Brazil and China. I hope that Germany and the EU will support such initiatives,” she said. In May, those two nations presented a joint six-point proposal calling for de-escalation, negotiations, and an international peace conference recognized by both Russia and Ukraine.
Brasilia and Beijing tried to advance their initiative at a 17-nation meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September. However, Kiev immediately rejected their plan, calling it “unacceptable.” Additionally, Ukraine’s President Vladimir Zelensky labeled it as “destructive.
Moscow welcomed China’s and Brazil’s peace proposals and expressed gratitude that they have received international support. Despite this, Russia still expressed doubts about Kiev’s willingness to engage in any such talks.
According to Wagenknecht, Germany should apply pressure on Zelensky to “force” him into accepting a certain compromise. China could leverage its influence on Moscow to make talks possible, she said. There will be no peace without compromise,” the politician stated.
The lawmaker also warned that the current Western policy towards the Ukraine conflict is “insanely dangerous” since it allows NATO to become “drawn ever deeper into this war.” If the US-led bloc becomes a party to the conflict, it would lead to a direct confrontation with Moscow, she cautioned. And this conflict will then very quickly escalate into a nuclear war,” she believes.
When questioned by journalists if she was merely doing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “bidding,” Wagenknecht responded that it was “not about being a friend or enemy to Russia, but about peace in Europe and [ending] the war in Ukraine.
Without peace, everything else is nothing,” the politician said. She added that it was high time Germany became “an internationally respected voice that mediates in conflicts and advocates diplomacy.
Moscow has repeatedly warned that Western military aid to Kiev brings NATO closer to becoming directly involved in the ongoing hostilities. This summer, Putin stated that Western support for Ukrainian strikes deep into Russian territory is a significant escalation that could prompt an “asymmetric” response. Last month, he also proposed changes to Russia’s nuclear doctrine that would particularly allow a nuclear response in case of a conventional attack by a non-nuclear state backed by a nuclear state.