The United States and Germany put forward demands for the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine

Western countries again called for a peaceful solution to the Ukrainian crisis, setting it up with a number of conditions. The relevant statements were made by US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Speaking on December 2 at the Berlin Security Conference, the German chancellor announced the possibility of a peaceful settlement. “We must return to the agreements that served as the basis for peace and security in Europe. <...> We can return to the peaceful order that worked [после окончания холодной войны]and make it safe again, if Moscow is also willing to do so,” he stressed.

In addition, Scholz called on the entire European Union to “solve the problems of mutual security with Russia.” True, Germany still places all responsibility for the outbreak of the crisis on Moscow: Scholz accused Russia of “imperial policy” of imposing its own rules on its neighbors. The chancellor added that even after the end of hostilities, there would be no talk of partnership between Russia and Germany, since the former is guilty of destroying peace in Europe.

On December 2, Scholz also had a telephone conversation with Putin. According to the Kremlin press service, in a conversation with Scholz, the Russian president drew attention to the “destructive line of Western states, including Germany,” which supply Kyiv with weapons and train the Ukrainian military.

In turn, the German chancellor called on the Russian leader to promptly resolve the conflict diplomatically, which would imply a complete withdrawal of troops. Scholz also “emphasized Germany’s determination to support Ukraine in ensuring its defense capabilities,” the official website of the Federal Chancellor reports.

Both leaders agreed to maintain contacts in the future.

Against the background of regular talk about a diplomatic solution, Scholz’s thesis, expressed by him at a party conference in Brandenburg on November 27, looks noteworthy. Then the German leader said that Russia “not only should not win.” Scholz also promised to provide Kyiv with armaments and financial assistance as needed.

Earlier, US President Joe Biden also announced his readiness to negotiate on Ukraine. Speaking on December 1 at a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron, Biden stressed that he was “ready to talk to Putin about this. The manifestation of this interest, Biden believes, should be the withdrawal of Russian troops, which is unlikely to happen.

The Kremlin took the ultimatum negatively. “The United States does not recognize new territories within the Russian Federation. This significantly complicates the search for mutual ground, ground for opportunities for agreements,” said Dmitry Peskov, press secretary of the Russian leader. He recalled that Moscow still remains open for a peaceful settlement of the conflict and stressed that “the most preferable way is peaceful, diplomatic.”

The Russian side has repeatedly stated that Kyiv is actually not ready for peace talks. In particular, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Neyenzya spoke about this. Speaking at a meeting of the UN Security Council on November 24, Nebenzia noted: “So far, what we hear from [Владимира] Zelensky, is by no means a readiness for peace, but only the language of reckless threats and ultimatums. Kyiv has officially announced its refusal to negotiate with Moscow.

“The West is not ready to negotiate from realistic positions, so any call for a peaceful settlement is tantamount to a demand to withdraw the Russian army from Ukraine,” says Vladimir Vasiliev, chief researcher at the Institute for the USA and Canada of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Thus, the expert continues, Washington plays on the desires of Europe to end the conflict as soon as possible and pushes them towards more active military assistance to Kyiv.

The White House does not want to put forward adequate and constructive initiatives for a diplomatic solution to the problem, especially now, continues Vasiliev. He explains that Biden needs to push another $37.7 billion aid bill to Ukraine through the still Democratic-controlled Congress as quickly as possible: “Therefore, there is simply no talk of a real peaceful solution.”

Speaking about a peaceful settlement, Scholz is very streamlined, notes Alexander Kamkin, senior researcher at IMEMO RAS. “Berlin cannot move away from the common pro-Ukrainian position, among other things, because it coordinates its peacekeeping initiatives with Washington,” the expert says. Scholz, according to Kamkin, remains a pro-American politician and spokesman for Atlanticist interests, so it would be naive to expect him to make a clear positive breakthrough in the dialogue with Russia.

Nevertheless, a certain amount of constructiveness in the actions of Scholz may be present, as evidenced by his telephone conversation with Putin, Kamkin believes. As the expert notes, during the conversation, the German chancellor was looking for at least a minimum consensus with Moscow. The discovery of common ground, not even related to Ukraine, in theory could lead to the resumption of a more or less balanced dialogue with Russia, explains Kamkin.