Wadephul Sees Chance for Ukraine Peace Talks This Summer

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul sees a chance for new talks on ending the war in Ukraine this summer and believes Russian President Vladimir Putin may now be more open to negotiations, according to n-tv.

After more than four years of war, neither Russia nor Ukraine is gaining a decisive military advantage, Wadephul told RTL Nachtjournal Spezial. The fighting was instead continuing to cause deaths every day, he said.

The minister also pointed to recent remarks by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, who said that neither Russia nor Ukraine could win the war by military means. Wadephul described the statement by one of Putin’s closest allies as noteworthy.

He added that Germany, France and Britain, together with other European partners, had taken the initiative and sent a signal to Moscow that they were prepared to take part in talks.

Ukraine had been willing to negotiate throughout, Wadephul said. It was now up to Putin to decide whether he wanted negotiations or continued fighting.

(mja)