German defense minister says Putin not ready for peace talks

Russian President Vladimir Putin does not show any desire to start peace negotiations with Ukraine.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said this during a dialogue on security policy issues at the Federal Academy for Security Policy on September 13, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

It will be possible to say that the Kremlin is ready for serious negotiations only "when Putin signals that he wants to talk," but so far he is only saying that he is not ready for this, but is ready to prolong the war for many more years, Pistorius said.

"Therefore, there are currently no grounds for visible talks. [...] I don't see any signs of that," the minister said.

According to Pistorius, he knows nothing if any preliminary negotiations are ongoing through diplomatic channels, but he did not rule out such a possibility.

Pistorius was almost the first German politician who said that Ukraine must win and not just that it "must not lose." The question is what is considered a victory, he said.

"Ultimately, it is not up to us to decide on what terms peace will be concluded, it will be decided by the Ukrainians, we should leave this issue to them. [...] Anything else would be our attack on their sovereignty," Pistorius said.

He added that until the Ukrainians are not able to negotiate, the country would need the support of Western partners.