Saxony’s Minister President Michael Kretschmer, a leading voice of dissidence in the German political elite, has spoken out for diplomacy to replace sending weapons to Ukraine. “We must no longer settle these issues on the battlefield. Europe must put on more pressure for peace talks,” he told the Bild am Sonntag onOct. 23. Kretschmer made clear that he wants to see an end to the war as soon as possible. In order to end the war, Germany should join other countries in pushing for a negotiated solution, he said. “There needs to be a joint diplomatic effort now by the EU, the U.S., China, India and Japan. This war must be stopped.”
Kretschmer also spoke in favor of resuming Russian gas supplies: “We need long-term contracts for liquefied gas supplies from the U.S., Qatar and other Arab countries. We also need to finally develop our own natural gas in the North Sea. And when the war is over, we should also use gas from Russia again,” Kretschmer said. Asked whether he expected the damaged Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline to be repaired, he said, “We’ll need pipeline gas, and that’s only possible with functioning pipelines.”
Kretschmer expressed skepticism about the impact of EU sanctions against Russia. “Sanctions are always better than using weapons. But they must also have the necessary effect on the aggressor.… We have to be clear about the impact of the sanctions on the German economy. There’s a tsunami building up right now.”
