Politicians have no right to demand ceasefire from Ukraine without guarantees of its enforcement - Bundestag member

Politicians and figures who already at this stage deny the possibility of Bundeswehr soldiers participating in ensuring compliance with the ceasefire in Ukraine are acting erroneously and have no right to demand peace talks without specifying how this peace will be ensured.

This opinion was expressed in a commentary to Ukrinform by Bundestag deputy from the Christian Democratic Union, member of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Subcommittee on Disarmament, Arms Control and Non-Proliferation Roderich Kiesewetter.

“Those who are already ruling out the future participation of Bundeswehr soldiers in peacekeeping are acting negligently and cannot seriously call for peace talks without saying how this peace will be ensured,” the politician said.

According to him, anyone who continues to call for an immediate ceasefire or peace talks should simultaneously be honest about how this ceasefire will be achieved. No matter what the post-war order looks like, it is already clear that Europe needs decades of security against Russia, and the ceasefire line must be secured by powerful troops.

“The peacekeeping force will be effective and realistic, given our limited material and human resources in Europe, when peacekeeping is integrated into the European and transatlantic security architecture, and thus NATO, because then the nuclear protective umbrella will also cover Ukraine,” the former Bundeswehr officer believes.

In his opinion, it should be clear that Russia, as long as it has a stronger position, will violently test any ceasefire. That is why it is so unrealistic that a ceasefire or negotiations, freezing or other pseudo-solutions will lead to a sustainable and just peace. What is more realistic is that it will lead to the expansion of the war and the subjugation of Ukraine until it is in a position of strength.

The MP believes that militarily and diplomatically it makes sense and is a sustainable solution to clearly support the victory plan of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as the Baltic States and Scandinavia have done. This is the only political concept that can lead to a sustainable and just peace.

Thus, in his opinion, the fastest and most effective way to achieve peace is to significantly expand military support for Ukraine so that it “gains momentum of strength,” and in the event of a ceasefire - which is not yet foreseen - to quickly accept Ukraine into NATO so that deterrence measures and the concept of integrated deterrence and defense can be linked to the presence of future peacekeepers.

Ukraine, Kiesewetter emphasized, cannot agree to an unenforceable ceasefire. Therefore, politicians in a country like Germany, who are already refusing to enforce and guarantee a ceasefire, should stop pushing Ukraine toward Minsk-3 or unilateral negotiations.

Responding to the remark that according to a poll, the majority of Germans do not welcome the idea of Germany's participation in a peacekeeping mission, Kiesewetter said that he “would not base a political position on polls.”

“The population expects a clear position and orientation and will certainly be ready for Germany's participation in the new security architecture in Europe to ensure peace. This requires politicians who demonstrate the will, a clear position on peace, and not those who rely on fear-mongering and the special German way,” the conservative politician said.

By his own admission, he is very concerned about the “special German approach to Moscow.”

Kiesewetter is convinced that from a military and diplomatic point of view, the conditions for a ceasefire do not exist at the moment. He believes that a ceasefire in the foreseeable future is very unrealistic, as Ukraine is not in a strong position and Russia is not interested in negotiations. If Ukraine were to be pressed into a ceasefire in coordination with Moscow, it would be very harmful to Ukraine, it would be tantamount to Russia using the time to recover and build up its own resources to attack again, said the MP from the largest opposition party in the German parliament.

“A ceasefire that will lead to a just and sustainable peace is only really possible when Ukraine is in a position of strength and the costs to Russia of continuing the war are significantly higher. This is not visible now,” the former officer said.

As reported, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has repeatedly said that it is not the right time to discuss the possible format of a peacekeeping mission, as a ceasefire must first be agreed upon. Opponents of the CDU party criticize Scholz for his indecision and his desire to maintain contact with Russian leader Putin.