What did Schröder discuss with his friend Putin in Moscow? The mediation mission of the former chancellor remains a mystery. In any case, from the Ukrainian point of view, it does not seem to have achieved anything.
The Ukrainian ambassador in Germany has declared that former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder’s efforts to mediate in the Ukraine war have failed.
“The matter is finally settled for us,” said Ambassador Andriy Melnyk of the German Press Agency. “Further talks with Schröder make no sense for Ukraine. It’s sad to see the whole thing go wrong.”
Schröder traveled from Istanbul to Moscow on Wednesday last week, where, according to dpa information, he spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday. Schröder has long been friends with Putin. The former chancellor also works as a lobbyist for the natural gas pipeline companies Nord Stream 1 and 2 and is chairman of the supervisory board of the Russian oil company Rosneft.
Melnyk speaks of “tragedy”
Melnyk emphasized again that the initiative for the mediation campaign came from Schröder. “There was some hope of results, otherwise nobody in Ukraine would have agreed to listen to him,” he said. On Sunday afternoon, a Ukrainian middleman was personally informed by Schröder about the progress of the talks in Moscow.
“But the results were absolutely useless. Nothing new was reported that we didn’t already know from our own talks with the Russian side,” said Melnyk. “It’s a shame that this opportunity was wasted.” The ambassador spoke of a “tragedy”.
According to its own statements, the federal government had not been informed in advance by Schröder about his trip to Moscow and then initially not about the results. Direct talks are currently underway between Ukraine and Russia. In the meantime, documents for possible direct talks between the head of state Volodymyr Zelenskyj and Putin are being drawn up.
Baerbock: «dictated peace has little to do with peace»
In a Bundestag debate, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) expressed reservations about this. It is important that these contacts now exist. “But here, too, we have to be honest with ourselves: we don’t know if these are really talks.” She emphasized: “A dictated peace has little to do with peace.” If you talk about peace talks and bomb hospitals and residential buildings at the same time, “then it’s probably not really about talks.”
This Thursday, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj wants to address the members of the Bundestag in a video address. Melnyk calls on Chancellor Olaf Scholz to then make a government statement. He should say how Germany wants to continue to support Ukraine. “Exactly three weeks after the start of the war, it would be time for the German head of government to comment on this again and announce very concrete aid measures.”
Melnyk emphasized that he was concerned with further arms deliveries as well as massive economic support and support for the war refugees. A great deal has happened since the Chancellor’s first government declaration on war. “That’s why another clear statement would be important not only for us, the Ukrainians, but certainly also for the Germans.”
The SPD member of the Bundestag Sören Bartol described Melnyk as “unbearable” via Twitter, but deleted the tweet a short time later.
Zelenskyy has 20 minutes
The federal government supports Ukraine both with arms deliveries and financially. Germany has also taken in tens of thousands of refugees from Ukraine. Scholz had already made a government statement in the Bundestag on February 27, day four of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
Zelenskyj will be connected via video in the plenary hall of the Bundestag on Thursday at 9 a.m. before the regular session begins. 20 minutes are allotted for this. Then the debate on compulsory vaccination begins. Opposition leader Friedrich Merz has also criticized the agenda. “We find that completely inappropriate,” said the CDU/CSU parliamentary group leader on Tuesday.
Source: Stern
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