The Telegraph: The German chancellor’s hopes for de-escalation with Russia are naive

The British Telegraph newspaper described what it said is the hope that appears from a call to German Chancellor Olaf Schultz to reduce the escalation with Russia, naive hope, and that the path to peace in Ukraine is not easy.

reported in editorial And with the onset of a harsh winter in Ukraine, Schultz spent an hour on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.

I wondered if Schultz’s hopes for the return of diplomatic channels between Russia and the West to work could be fulfilled. She ruled that out, and said that this call came after Schulz developed a peaceful vision for de-escalation in which the peace structure that prevailed before the war would be restored, which is the previous situation in which the common security of Russia and its Western-leaning neighbors is guaranteed in a “magical” way.

She described Schultz’s vision as ambitious and attractive, adding, “But it is certainly naive.” She pointed out that the Kremlin’s response to US President Joe Biden’s statements – in which he said that he might be ready to talk to Putin – showed that reaching a permanent peace agreement was very difficult, adding that the West’s refusal to recognize the Ukrainian lands newly seized by Russia makes negotiations more difficult, Ukrainians will not accept any agreement in which large swaths of their land are formally handed over to Russia.

She concluded that one thing is certain, and that is that Ukraine should not be forced to negotiate with Putin before it is ready. Hard talk and military force have proven to be the best platform for peace talks in the past, and they can do so again.