Top Saxon politicians call for diplomatic initiative to end Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine

Leading politicians from Saxony have called on the federal government to take a diplomatic initiative to end the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. We have reached a point that could have been avoided, said Minister President Michael Kretschmer (CDU) in the state parliament on Wednesday. There had been many quiet, thoughtful and deliberative voices about the German contribution to the end of the war. However, many of these voices had been pushed aside. Kretschmer counted himself among them.

There should be an "honest debate as to whether it is really right that Germany has become so much a party to the war and whether it would not be wiser to use much more diplomatic initiative to influence this Russian president to freeze this war so that the dying finally stops". The logic of weapons and violence must be broken.

Social Affairs Minister Petra Köpping called on Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (both SPD) to support peace negotiations in the Ukraine war. "One positive thing about Olaf Scholz has always been his restraint in this war. And now people are expecting peace negotiations," she told Handelsblatt on Wednesday. "We must not ignore the concerns of many citizens that the war may escalate."

Peace in Ukraine is a question that she encounters in conversations with citizens everywhere. The peace conference in Switzerland was therefore the right signal. "We must drive this process forward on a massive scale." It is true that Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin has no interest in talks. International pressure to hold peace negotiations is nevertheless important.