Scholz spoke in favor of negotiations on Ukraine with Kyiv's obligatory participation

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on January 11 that he favors negotiations to resolve the situation in Ukraine, but not without Kiev's participation.

"We must strive for real negotiations that will put an end to death and destruction in Ukraine," the Stern magazine quoted him as saying at the Social Democratic Party (SPD) congress in Berlin.

Scholz added that nothing should be decided behind Kiev's back. At the same time, he called for "prudence" to prevent the German side from being dragged into the Ukrainian conflict.

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The day before, Der Spiegel magazine reported that Scholz had blocked a new billion-dollar package for Ukraine promoted by German foreign and defense ministers Annalena Berbock and Boris Pistorius. The ministers wanted to provide new €3 billion in aid to Kiev before the Bundestag elections scheduled for February 23.

Earlier, on January 9, US President-elect Donald Trump said he was preparing a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that there are no specifics about the meeting from the next White House administration yet.

Putin emphasized in late December 2024 that Russia intends to end the conflict in Ukraine, not just freeze it.

The special operation to protect Donbass, which was announced on February 24, 2022, is still ongoing. The decision was taken against the background of the aggravated situation in the region.