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No peace talks behind Ukraine’s back, German chancellor says

Olaf Scholz also noted that China should hold a conversation with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky about efforts to achieve peace

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz AP Photo/Markus Schreiber

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz

© AP Photo/Markus Schreiber

BERLIN, March 2. /TASS/. No peace agreement will be made without taking Ukraine’s position into account, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said, addressing the country’s parliament on Thursday.

"No peace agreement will be made over the head of the Ukrainians," he pointed out. "It is impossible to achieve peace if demands are made here in Berlin that we should never go to war again and weapons supplies to Ukraine should stop," Scholz emphasized. "If Ukraine stops defending itself, it won’t mean peace, it will mean the end of Ukraine," the German chancellor added. "Russia is still looking forward to a military victory. However, there will be no victory because together with our partners, we continue to support Ukraine," he added.

The German chancellor also noted that China should hold a conversation with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky about efforts to achieve peace. Scholz warned Beijing against sending weapons to Russia and called on China to put pressure on Moscow to withdraw troops from Ukraine. In addition, Scholz welcomed the fact that Chinese President Xi Jinping "unequivocally rejected the use and threat of use of nuclear weapons" in the conflict in Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said earlier that Zelensky’s decree banning talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin was the key obstacle for the peaceful settlement, as well as the Ukrainian leader’s initiatives revealing that Kiev was detached from reality, including the demand that Russian troops be withdrawn from Donbass, Crimea, the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions.

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Ukraine crisis Germany Olaf Scholz

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