After Witkoff's Putin visit, Hardt and Strack-Zimmermann urge caution
Moscow is signalling readiness to talk about Ukraine. CDU foreign policy expert Hardt warns of a "rotten compromise", while the FDP's Strack-Zimmermann advises taking a "very sober" look.
Archive image · Photo: Superbass / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
After US special envoy Steve Witkoff met Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg, German foreign and security policy politicians are urging restraint. According to the Kremlin, the talks were serious and thorough, and Putin called progress "theoretically possible". Russia is reviewing US proposals, but much depends on Ukraine, Moscow said.
CDU foreign policy expert Jürgen Hardt warned, according to ZDFheute: "There is a danger that Putin will exploit the situation for a rotten compromise." FDP politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann told "heute journal update" that one should take a "very sober look". In her assessment, US President Donald Trump is building a narrative ahead of the midterm elections, and Putin is helping him do so.
On Tuesday, Witkoff, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb met in Oslo, with representatives of several European countries including Germany, as well as the EU and NATO, joining by video. "We are ready for negotiations," Zelensky said. Putin also announced the release of a US citizen convicted in 2024.