The German foreign minister said that Vladimir Putin should not be rewarded for the invasion of Ukraine.
German Foreign Minister Analena Berbock welcomed China’s peace initiative to end the war in Ukraine, but rejected any territorial concessions to Russia. A just peace presupposes “that the one who violated the territorial integrity, namely Russia, withdraws its troops from the occupied country,” Berbok said at the security conference in Munich.
“World peace is based precisely on the fact that we all recognize the territorial integrity and sovereignty of each country”, she added.
“Without the withdrawal of Russia, there is no chance of ending the war”
The German position, she continued, is that without the complete withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine, there is no chance of ending the almost year-long conflict, and all demands to end the war with territorial concessions to Russia are unacceptable. She also, following NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, said yes Russian President Vladimir Putin should not be rewarded for the invasion of Ukraine and that this is a way to prevent those who want to emulate him.
Stoltenberg previously said that China is closely monitoring the outcome of the Ukraine war and is evaluating its own plans in “its part of the world“. It is feared that a Russian victory in Ukraine would encourage China to use military force against Taiwan.
China has a proposal
China announced today in Munich that it will present a peace initiative to end the one-year war in Ukraine, which is based on dialogue between the conflicting parties and respect for territorial integrity. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that Beijing will present a proposal for a political solution to the Ukrainian crisis based on the principles of the UN Charter.
Without specifying who he was referring to, Wang also said that there are “forces that do not want negotiations to succeed and the war to end” and that sanctions do not resolve conflicts between countries. After the conference, Wang will travel directly to Moscow. When asked what chance gave to the Chinese initiative, Berbock said: “If you work for peace all year round, you have to take advantage of every chance for peace“.
(WORLD)