German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier sees no possibility for negotiations on a possible truce.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier made this statement in an interview with DW. “All recommendations to conclude a truce now, of course, are not serious because a truce at this moment would mean signing up to what has already happened, to injustice. A truce now would mean that Russia would retain the occupied territory. And with it, border violations, disregard for international law, and land grabs will be sanctioned,” Steinmeier said.
At the same time, he is reluctant to comment on possible Western and German security guarantees for Ukraine before the Ukrainian government starts possible negotiations with Moscow.
“We are still at a stage where we cannot say exactly what such security guarantees could look like,” Steinmeier said.
Steinmeier said he condemns Russia’s recent attacks on civilians and gas and electricity supplies in Ukraine: “I think this is part of the military strategy we see here. We have not just a brutal war of aggression that is being waged militarily against the Ukrainian army, but we have – and this is becoming more noticeable as we get closer to winter – a brutal attack on critical infrastructure and, of course, on civilians.”
As previously reported, the German President called for increased assistance to Ukraine due to the massive destruction of energy infrastructure in Ukraine.
Steinmeier calls for more assistance to Ukraine
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier called for increased assistance to Ukraine in connection with the massive destruction of energy infrastructure by Russian missile attacks.
“Millions of Ukrainians are now facing a winter of great need, darkness, and cold,” Steinmeier said during a visit to the logistics center of the German Red Cross.
He called on German cities and municipalities to partner with Ukrainian municipalities. Thanks to this, aid can be delivered in a non-bureaucratic way from person to person. Mr Steinmeier also called for donations so that humanitarian organizations could purchase, for example, generators or heaters.
Ambassador of Ukraine Olexiy Makeyev, who accompanied Steinmeier, thanked him for his support. He said that the German Red Cross also delivered goods to the heating centers set up in many cities. In these points, people should be able to warm up, as well as be able to provide themselves with electricity and the Internet.
