In a joint letter published in
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Minister-Presidents of Brandenburg and Saxony: Dietmar Woidke and Michael Kretschmer, respectively, as well as leader of the CDU in Thuringia, Mario Voigt, urged for a ceasefire and peace talks with Russia.
They said that there is a need for a “strong international alliance” to bring Moscow to the negotiation table.
Leaders disagree
However, Germany’s national leaders firmly rejected the calls for new negotiations.
Friedrich Merz, leader of the CDU, said that peace talks can only occur when both sides are prepared, adding that Russia has shown no willingness to engage in discussions.
“Russia will only come to the table when it realizes that further military action is futile.”
Michael Roth, chairman of the Bundestag’s foreign affairs committee from the SPD, also slammed the letter, warning that it could be an attempt to influence coalition talks with the BSW, potentially softening Germany’s support for Ukraine.
He said: “If this letter is intended to make the BSW more agreeable in coalition talks, we should be very skeptical.”
Critics have also pointed to the appeal’s lack of concrete strategy for achieving a ceasefire, saying that negotiations under the current circumstances could reward Russian aggression.
The CDU, SPD, and Greens have all distanced themselves from the letter, emphasizing that Ukraine must be supported in its fight for survival, not pressured into premature negotiations.
German media, including the tabloid Bild, strongly condemned the appeal, calling it “shameful” and deeming it a political move to gain favor of the newly formed BSW party, led by Sahra Wagenknecht’s, currently in coalition negotiations with both the CDU and SPD in three eastern states.
Positive response
Wagenknecht, a former leader of the Left Party, has often sparked outrage for her perceived defense of Russian actions in Ukraine, regularly questioning the West’s stance in the conflict.
She responded positively to the letter, praising it as a necessary contrast to what she described as an ongoing focus on supplying Ukraine with weapons.
She criticized the mainstream debate for lacking “any perspective for an end to the war,” instead revolving around moral posturing.
