The SPD left calls for an “as soon as possible ceasefire” in the Ukraine war and for peace talks with Russia. The demand meets with a lack of understanding – not only in his own party. Ambassador Melnyk describes the authors as “heartless and oblivious to history”.
A group of SPD politicians are pushing for a diplomatic offensive to end the war in Ukraine quickly. “We need a ceasefire as soon as possible as a starting point for comprehensive peace negotiations,” says the Left Party’s appeal entitled “The weapons must be silent!”. The initiative met with sharp criticism across all parties, including within the SPD.
A fundamental improvement in relations with Moscow is only possible in the era after the incumbent ruler Vladimir Putin, the authors concede in the text. Ukraine’s right to self-defense is also recognized. At the same time, however, “a modus vivendi must be found with the Russian government that rules out a further escalation of the war, based on the acknowledgment of realities that one does not like,” the parties demand. There must be an agreement between Ukraine and Russia for this.
SPD politicians who have signed the appeal include MPs Jan Dieren, Rainer Keller, Tina Rudolph, Carolin Wagner and Jens Peick, MEPs Dietmar Köster, Constanze Krehl and Joachim Schuster, several MPs, Bremen’s former mayor Carsten Sieling, Bremen’s SPD state chairman Reinhold Wetjen and Dortmund’s mayor Thomas Westphal. In the call for an end to the Ukraine war, you also advocate China’s role as a mediator and warn against deliveries of heavy war equipment to Ukraine. Instead, there should be a new attempt at “a global policy of détente”.
“Anyone who wants peace must now support Ukraine politically and militarily in such a way that Russia is forced to the negotiating table,” said SPD foreign policy expert Michael Roth. The Jusos also kept their distance. “Kyiv decides when you want to negotiate with Russia. Demanding from Germany that the guns have to be silent is empathetic,” said the SPD youth organization on Twitter.
Politicians from the Union and the Greens expressed their dismay. “While demands for peace negotiations are being made in the SPD, Putin is continuing to mobilize soldiers and material to wipe out Ukraine,” wrote CDU foreign policy expert Norbert Röttgen on Twitter. “Demanding negotiations when it is obvious that Russia has absolutely no interest in doing so is illusory at best,” he added. “How much can you ignore reality?” asked the Greens defense politician Sara Nanni on Twitter. Looking at the SPD left, she asked what they understood by “acknowledgment of realities”, perhaps “the destruction of Ukrainian society”?
“These people can no longer be helped,” criticized the CSU member of the Bundestag, Florian Hahn. He stressed that “there will be no serious negotiations until Russia is militarily compelled to do so”. This is precisely why Germany must provide Ukraine with substantial support, including with heavy weapons. “Dear God, can this party still be saved?” wrote outgoing Ukrainian ambassador Andriy Melnyk. He accused the signatories of being “heartless and forgetful of history”.