The policies of the Russian federal government are causing debate – there are calls for more diplomacy. There has been criticism of the Saxon Prime Minister’s initiative to resume gas supplies from Russia after the end of the war.

SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich has called on Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Green) to do more to find a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine war. He feels supported by opinion polls, according to which 60 percent of Germans want more diplomatic initiatives, Mützenich told ZDF. “That was also conveyed to the Foreign Minister, because he is currently the highest diplomat in Germany.”

In the end, it all comes down to a “balance” between Ukraine’s right to self-defense and diplomacy, Mützenich said. The last few weeks have shown that diplomatic progress is possible. Despite the massive military conflict, a large exchange of prisoners took place. The agreement on grain shipments was also a “tolerable success”.

In his own words, Saxon Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer also advocated greater diplomatic efforts. To end the war, Germany must push for a negotiated solution with other countries, the CDU politician told Bild am Sonntag. “What is needed now is a joint diplomatic effort by the European Union, the US, China, India and Japan. This war must stop.”

“No longer clarifying questions on the battlefield”

According to Kretschmer, this negotiation does not automatically result in Ukraine having to give up part of its national territory. “There is not a single reason why Ukraine should give up even one square meter of its territory. The war damage must be compensated by Russia, war criminals must be held accountable. You have to carry out peace talks with this attitude,” said the Saxony head of government. “We can no longer resolve this issue on the battlefield. Europe should put more pressure on peace talks.”

Kretschmer also expressed skepticism about the impact of EU sanctions on Russia. “Sanctions are always better than the use of weapons. But sanctions must also have the necessary effect on the aggressor,” he said. “We need to be clear about the impact of sanctions on the German economy. The tsunami is building right now.”

Nouripour doubts the merits of negotiations

Green Party leader Omid Nouripour, on the other hand, defended the policies of the Ukrainian Foreign Minister. “Annalena Baerbock is doing everything she can for us to make peace,” he said, according to ZDF. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) rightly said that Germany should coordinate closely with its partners, for example in arms deliveries: “Ukraine is also an important part of this partner, and our colleague Mützenich should know that.”

Nouripour stressed that the successful negotiations achieved “we owe it to Ukraine”. It is clear that ceasefire negotiations at this stage will weaken Ukraine’s position.

Gas from Russia again after the war ended?

Linked to the demand for more diplomacy is the debate over the possible resumption of gas supplies from Russia after the end of the war. Kretschmer supports it. “We need long-term contracts for the supply of liquefied gas from the United States, Qatar and other Arab countries. We also ended up having to develop our own natural gas in the North Sea. And when the war was over, we had to use Russian gas again. , ” said the CDU politician .

Dietmar Bartsch, leader of the parliamentary left, is also open to new gas deliveries after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s tenure. Bartsch told the newspaper of the Funke media group: “Of course there will be a time after Putin when talks about shipping gas from Russia may be possible again.” However, the key remains the determination to expand renewable energy. The federal government and the Saxon state government talked a lot about this, but they acted “too slowly.”

Because: relations with Russia have been shattered for years

Kretschmer and Bartsch get headwinds from Lower Saxony, among others. Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD) was very skeptical: “I fear that relations between Germany and Russia have been damaged for years,” he told the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung”. “Unfortunately, at the moment I do not see that the trust shattered by brutal wars can be restored in the future.”

True, everyone wants peace in Ukraine as soon as possible. But even so, the future of Germany’s energy supply will not lie in gas. “The future is renewable energy – produced locally or imported and stored in the form of climate-neutral hydrogen,” explains Weil.

“Don’t get into dependency again”

Prime Minister Schleswig-Holstein Günther said his party colleague Kretschmer’s proposal for Russia “is not the right way”. “I don’t think we should argue about dependency anymore,” said Günther Report from Berlin. The goal should be “to become independent from Russia”.

FDP deputy Wolfgang Kubicki described the Kretschmer initiative as “a rather mismatched attempt to solve our short-term energy problem”. On the other hand, the Vice President of the Bundestag called for the use of domestic oil and gas deposits. “I want to remind you that there are related regulations for oil and gas fields in the North and Baltic Seas in the coalition agreement,” he told the Funke newspaper. He expected Federal Economics Secretary Robert Habeck (Greens) “to honor this agreement accordingly and address the exploitation of this potential as soon as possible”. In this situation, Germany was “unable to put the ideological brakes on”.