km. They still exist, German “elder statesmen”, who do not agree with Germany’s current foreign and security policy: they do not agree with the unconditional subordination to the policy of the US government, with the escalation of the confrontation with Russia and with ever louder German war drums. They include, for example, Generals Harald Kujat (former Chief of Staff of the German armed forces and Chairman of the NATO Military Committee in Brussels) and Erich Vad (former German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Military Policy Advisor), but also politicians such as Klaus von Dohnanyi (former Federal Minister and Mayor of Hamburg) and Willy Wimmer (former State Secretary in the Ministry of Defence and Vice President of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, OSCE) or diplomats such as Hans von Sponeck and Michael von der Schulenburg (both former high-ranking German UN diplomats). If politicians like the German chancellors Willy Brandt, Helmut Schmidt or Helmut Kohl were still alive, they would probably do the same. Gerhard Schröder, Helmut Kohl’s successor, is known to still be doing so today.
In February 2024, Michael von der Schulenburg spoke out twice with shorter but nonetheless substantial contributions: on 12 February with the text “The Ukraine war could come to an unexpected end”1 and on 24 February with the call for peace “Only peace negotiations can save Ukraine”.2
The first sentence in the text from 12 February reads: “Even if there is still fighting at the front, recent developments in Ukraine would suggest that the war could end in a way that is completely unexpected in the West – with a Ukrainian-Russian agreement.” The text substantiates this opinion. Read for yourself.
A longer passage is quoted from his 24 February appeal:
“Wars claim most victims in their attrition and final phases. Hence, if the war continues, it could even lead to a worse bloodshed to befall Ukraine. We must not allow this to happen. Continuing the war would be irresponsible as it could cause the collapse of Ukraine, resulting in a country deprived of a whole generation of its youth and leaving behind a traumatised aging population with no hope for a future in their homeland worth living.
A continuation of the war would also lead to ever more adverse consequences for the people of the European Union and for Germany in particular. The decline of the European economy, resulting in a high debt burden for future generations, the increasing inability of governments to live up to their social responsibilities and to invest what is necessary for its people will exacerbate social injustices as well as domestic divisions and political tensions. We would increase the risks for our open, pluralistic society as well as for the democratic order. By continuing or even expanding and escalating the war, we are increasingly exposing the people of Europe to the risk of an uncontrollable, perhaps even nuclear war.
Ukraine needs peace – Europe needs peace, and this peace can only be achieved through a ceasefire followed by peace negotiations. Ending this war on European soil is our European responsibility. It must not go on for another year and lead to even more senseless sacrifices. I therefore remind the German government of its constitutional obligation to serve the peace of the world. I urge it to do everything in its power, together with our European allies and partners and with the Ukrainian government, to achieve an immediate ceasefire and the start of peace negotiations.”
Nothing needs to be added to this. •
1 https://michael-von-der-schulenburg.com/the-ukraine-war-could-come-to-an-unexpected-end/
2 https://michael-von-der-schulenburg.com/only-peace-negotiations-can-save-ukraine/
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