The refusal of the German authorities from the diplomatic path in resolving the situation in Ukraine was a mistake, said the Prime Minister of Saxony Michael Kretschmer in an interview with the newspaper Bild am Sonntag.

"Foreign Minister (German Annalena Baerbock. - RT) believes that now is not the time for negotiations, but for the supply of weapons. This worries many people, including me. Diplomacy is always a means of resolving conflicts. I think it is wrong that Germany has abandoned this position. And the number of people in Germany who also think so is increasing every day," the politician said.

Answering a question about the possible timing of the end of the conflict in Ukraine, Kretschmer noted that "it also depends on the commitment of Germany and Europe to diplomatic solutions."

The politician expressed a similar opinion earlier. In December 2022, he stressed that Germany should be more active in seeking a diplomatic solution to the Ukrainian crisis. The Prime Minister of Saxony recalled that in previous years, German chancellors and foreign ministers went to dialogue even against the backdrop of the most difficult conflicts and helped to negotiate peace.

Kretschmer also stated that the mediation mission is important not only for Germany, but also for the entire European Union.

"Weapons are not more important than negotiations ... The fighting is going on here, the United States is thousands of kilometers away. Therefore, first of all, it is the Europeans who must find a solution to the conflict. The destruction in Ukraine is enormous, innocent people are suffering. Deaths must stop," RTL quoted him as saying.

  • Prime Minister of Saxony Michael Kretschmer
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  • © Paul Zinken/picture alliance

In addition, Kretschmer spoke in favor of freezing the conflict, opposed the complete rupture of economic relations with Russia and proposed to resume imports of raw materials from the Russian Federation after the end of hostilities. For his position, the German politician was criticized and attacked, in particular by the former Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, who called his rhetoric absurd.

"I invited you to Ukraine. This invitation has been canceled... You are undesirable," Melnik wrote on his Twitter.

'Acceptable Limited Strike Tactics'

According to analysts, a significant part of German citizens share Kretschmer's position on the conflict in Ukraine.

"Many people in Germany share his point of view and do not really understand why they should finance the Ukrainian project. It can be expected that such protest moods will grow in Germany. People will increasingly ask: why are the Germans fighting with their wallets, weapons and authority on the side of Kyiv? What is Germany's goal in this conflict?" said Nikolai Mezhevich, chief researcher at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in a conversation with RT.

A similar point of view is shared by Alexander Kamkin, a researcher at IMEMO.

"In general, German society is divided approximately in half on the issue of support for Ukraine. One part supports Ukraine, including militarily, and the other adheres, albeit not pro-Russian, but still a more constructive position, "the source said.

  • Posters of participants in an anti-war rally in Berlin on April 8
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  • © Fabian Sommer/picture alliance

Political analysts recalled that in February 2023, Bundestag deputy from the Left Party Sarah Wagenknecht and German journalist and human rights activist Alice Schwarzer published a "Manifesto in Support of Peace", in which they called for a diplomatic solution to the conflict in Ukraine.

The petition, in particular, called on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to create an alliance that would advocate a ceasefire and peace talks. On one of the online platforms, more than 780 thousand people signed the appeal.

In addition, in recent months, a number of large rallies have been held in Germany, the participants of which opposed the pumping of weapons into Kiev and for a peaceful settlement of the conflict. However, according to political analysts, the position of official Berlin differs sharply from the opinion of supporters of the dialogue.

Thus, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, whom Kretschmer mentioned in an interview with Bild, has repeatedly expressed support for the supply of weapons to Ukraine. In August last year, the politician said that it was allegedly impossible to end the conflict through negotiations. Under these conditions, she said, there is only one choice left for Berlin - to provide military support to Ukraine. Later, Baerbock even announced that she intends to help Kiev, regardless of what her voters think about it.

And in January 2023, at a meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Baerbock admitted that the West was "waging war against Russia." However, the German political establishment sharply criticized Baerbock's statement, and the German Foreign Minister was forced to admit that her words were erroneous.

On April 21, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius raised the level of confrontation in the rhetoric of official Berlin. In an interview with the German television channel ZDF, he said that Ukrainian attacks on targets on Russian territory are supposedly "absolutely normal." As noted by Focus Online, not a single leading politician in the West, especially the head of the defense department, allowed himself such statements.

In response to Pistorius's words, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova invited the German Defense Minister to remember her statement.

"Did you remember everything? " Limited strikes are an acceptable tactic." Boris, don't forget your expression either. In any case, I'll remind you. By the way, the German Ministry of Defense has not yet found out who committed the terrorist attack against Nord Stream? Maybe this is also an "acceptable tactic of limited strikes" to destroy an important infrastructure project for Germany? Or does the older brother in NATO not allow you to be interested in what happened there? I would like clarity," the diplomat wrote in her Telegram channel.

"The political class of Germany plays the role of vassals"

Analysts state that Germany today prefers not diplomacy, but confrontation and arms supplies.

"Germany is making gigantic efforts to ensure that the conflict in Ukraine drags on for as long as possible - Berlin provides support to Kyiv at all levels. Therefore, we can say that Germany today is de facto fighting on the side of Ukraine," Mykola Mezhevich believes.

  • Berlin
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  • © Nikada

At the same time, according to experts, Berlin is striking blows at bilateral relations with Moscow. On April 22, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that Germany had decided on the mass expulsion of Russian diplomats. As stated in the department, thereby Berlin is pursuing a course towards the destruction of the entire array of Russian-German relations.

"As a reaction to the hostile actions of Berlin, the Russian side decided to mirror the expulsion of German diplomats from Russia, as well as to significantly limit the maximum number of employees of German diplomatic missions in our country," the Foreign Ministry said.

Alexander Kamkin believes that the German authorities are consistently implementing a policy aimed at a complete severance of ties with Russia.

"Germany, like many other European countries that are in the zone of American influence, pursues a consistent policy of breaking off relations with Russia both economically and diplomatically. The current expulsion will lead to another decrease in the activity of diplomatic contacts between Moscow and Berlin, "the analyst said.

And in the foreseeable future, Berlin's confrontational course towards Moscow will not change, the expert believes.

"Kretschmer's party, the Christian Democratic Union, despite its opposition status, supports the general narrative of Germany regarding Ukraine. Kretschmer's position is rather an exception. Statements by other functionaries of the CDU indicate that, in general, the opinions of the ruling coalition and the CDU regarding military support for Ukraine are quite similar. Unfortunately, the German political class is now under the strong influence of the Anglo-Americans and plays the role of vassals in relations with the United States, so we should not expect a change in Berlin's position, "Kamkin concluded.