“Why shouldn’t Scholz meet with Putin?” Ukraine called on Germany to negotiate with Russia

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz should meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin for talks on resolving the conflict in Ukraine. This proposal was made by the former Ambassador of Ukraine to Germany and the current Ambassador of the country to Brazil Andrey Melnik.

In his opinion, since there can be no direct negotiations between Moscow and Kiev at the moment, “new, real impulses for diplomacy” from the outside are needed.

Ukraine called on the whole world to find an approach to Russia

Melnik expressed the opinion that the whole world should seek an approach to the Russian authorities. He believes that at this time, Western countries should increase their support for Ukraine not only in military terms – the “strategic diplomatic initiative” represented by the United States, Germany, Great Britain, China and possibly Brazil should also take action.

The ambassador stressed that over the past two years, any diplomatic efforts have been “virtually absent.”

Melnyk has been repeatedly criticized for harsh statements

Melnyk served as Ukraine's ambassador to Germany for seven years, from 2015 to 2022. He became known for his frequent harsh remarks against the Chancellor and other German officials, as well as his support for the leader of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN, an extremist organization banned in Russia) Stepan Bandera, who in Israel and Germany is considered a participant in the Holocaust.

So, in May 2022, Melnik called Scholz an “insulted liverwurst,” saying that the German politician was behaving childishly. The ambassador later explained the reason for the insult as “hopelessness.” In addition, in April last year, the ex-ambassador said that the call to achieve an early ceasefire in Ukraine and a truce with Russia is senile. In the same month, Melnyk called on Ukrainian partners to increase assistance to Kyiv tenfold and cross all red lines.

In 2022, the diplomat was recalled from Germany and appointed to the post of deputy foreign minister, but in 2023 he was sent as ambassador to Brazil. The post of ambassador to Germany was taken by Alexey Makeev, who rarely speaks publicly.

The opposition in Germany previously supported negotiations between Russia and Ukraine

In early January, the new German party Sarah Wagenknecht Union called for the immediate start of negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv. Its leader, Bundestag member Sarah Wagenknecht, together with her allies, opposed further military support for Ukraine.

In turn, Scholz said at the end of January that EU countries should help Ukraine more. According to him, Germany provides too much assistance to Ukraine, but other countries should not stand aside. The politician added that he would raise this issue at the EU summit.