Commenting on the visits of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to Kiev and Moscow, Reinhard Bütikofer, Foreign Policy Coordinator of the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament, said:
“The conditions for Chancellor Scholz’s visits to Kiev and Moscow are conceivably dramatic. After all, diplomatic efforts from Europe and the USA have so far been unable to reduce the threats emanating from Moscow. On the contrary, Russia’s President Putin is rather aggravating the tensions. The Chancellor’s trip is therefore extremely important. There is no doubt that Germany is a heavyweight partner vis-à-vis Russia, and it certainly has relevant levers at its disposal. It is all the more important that the Chancellor leaves no doubt in his talks about our solidarity with Ukraine and the other Central and Eastern European countries and about our policy of deterrence against renewed aggression by Russia. Federal President Steinmeier took a stand with gratifying clarity in his speech to the Federal Assembly. Therefore, in simple words: Learning from Steinmeier means avoiding any German ‘Sonderweg’.”
