Russia can’t dictate peace deal to Ukraine – POLITICO

BERLIN – Russia should not be able to set the terms of a peace deal ending its invasion of Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Sunday during a televised address commemorating the 77th anniversary of the end of World War II.

“I cannot tell you today when and how Russia’s cruel war against Ukraine will end,” Scholz said. “But one thing is clear, there must be no peace dictated by Russia. The Ukrainians will not accept that and neither will we.”

Under Scholz, Germany broke a long-standing taboo by agreeing to supply Ukraine with offensive weapons for its war against Russian forces. But Scholz has come under heavy attack, both for not acting quickly enough in his support of Ukraine, and by many domestically for going too far in sending arms.

In his speech on Sunday evening, Scholz tried to reassure the Germans that he was working in lockstep with the country’s allies and would not make NATO a direct party to the war. His government’s “difficult” decisions to support Kyiv in recent weeks were necessary to counter Russia’s aggression, he said.

“Not to do this would mean capitulating to sheer violence and strengthening the attacker,” said Scholz.

On Monday – the day Russia commemorates its victory in World War II – Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to deliver a speech addressing the conflict in Moscow’s Red Square.

The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj had invited Scholz to visit Kyiv that day to symbolically show Germany’s support.