BERLIN, September 10. /TASS/. When German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said now is the time to discuss a path to peace in Ukraine, he was likely giving in to domestic political pressure, said Stefan Meister, a political scientist at the German Council on Foreign Relations.
"Scholz is under pressure on the subject of Ukraine, and unrest on the subject is rising, especially in his own party," said the researcher, who heads the Center for Order and Governance in Eastern Europe, Russia, and Central Asia at the council.
Domestic political pressure due to the success of the Alternative for Germany and Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance, or BSW by its German initials, in the recent local elections in Saxony and Thuringia is so high that Scholz had to respond to increasing demands to end the conflict, according to the analyst.
The analyst said that scenarios other than a "complete victory" for Ukraine also need to be discussed. It is obvious that Western support for Ukraine is not enough to win the conflict, Meister said.
"The desire to end the war is also increasing in Ukraine, even if the conditions allow little compromise," he went on to say.
On September 8, Scholz said in an interview with ZDF television that the time has come to discuss how to come to peace in the conflict in Ukraine and reiterated support for Russia's participation in any new summit to resolve the crisis. The chancellor said a new summit would be held in any case. At the same time, the chancellor that he would continue to do everything to help Kiev. He conceded, however, that the reason why parties opposed to arms supplies gained success in the recent regional elections was that some Germans disagree with supporting Ukraine.