After almost five years of war between Russia and Ukraine, will there be serious peace talks? While Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) himself likes to claim leadership in the negotiations and continues to move financial levers for Ukraine, one thing in particular has become apparent in the EU after the meeting in Abu Dhabi: great disagreement about who should actually take a seat on behalf of the Europeans at the negotiating table with Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.
The gap between expectations and reality was shown on Thursday evening in the ZDF talk “Maybrit Illner”. Although the hope for peace was palpable among the discussants, no one really wanted to believe in it. Instead, the show turned into a reality check for BSW chairwoman Amira Mohamed Ali. She remained completely isolated in the round with her unpopular positions.
In addition to Mohamed Ali, foreign politician Armin Laschet (CDU), ZDF correspondent Katrin Eigendorf and political scientist Christian Mölling sat in the group. The former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba (2020 to 2024) was connected live.
The first conflict was sparked by the BSW's demand to end military support for Kiev. The money - so far the Federal Republic has made around 100 billion euros available - is not enough for the needs of the people in Germany, argued Mohamed Ali. She supports humanitarian winter aid, but “more weapons are the wrong approach.”
“Then the check for Europe will be even more expensive”
Former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba countered this stance with stark words: “Those who argue that the best way to end the war is to cut off support for Ukraine are actually saying that they want more civilians to die in Ukraine.” He indirectly accused Mohamed Ali of being one of those people “who would rather come to terms with Putin and his policies.” If Ukraine fell, Kuleba warned, modern weapon systems such as drones would also fall into Russia's hands. "Then the check for Europe will be even more expensive. You can't even imagine that right now," says Kuleba.
CDU politician Armin Laschet agreed with Kuleba. There is a broad consensus for support in Germany, said Laschet. “If Ukraine had not been supported after the turn of the century, it would no longer exist today.”
At the same time, Laschet also criticized the EU for the current situation. There have been no talks with Russia for nine months, now “something like trust has to grow again.” This wouldn't come out of nowhere. “In fact, nobody trusts nobody at this negotiating table.” According to the CDU man, the Europeans themselves should have clarified long ago who was going into negotiations with what demands.
Since it is a matter of European foreign policy, the European institutions are also responsible, rather than the individual states, believes the CDU politician. “The European Council could appoint a special representative or lead such a delegation.” Council President António Costa is actually the contact person, says Laschet. “Actually, we would even have a high representative for foreign policy (Kaja Kallas, editor’s note), but no one is suggesting that.”
Security expert Christian Mölling analyzed how problematic this gap is. In 2025, the Europeans would have successfully thwarted the USA's 20-point peace plan to the detriment of Kiev. However, after the recent advances in Abu Dhabi by Putin and US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the political scientist sees a clear Russian tactic. It is “basically the recipe for dragging these negotiations out until the end of the day.” Putin knows full well that the Europeans do not agree. “Even if you now appoint a person to go there, he cannot have power of attorney to decide on such central questions, which are questions of national sovereignty and then possibly also include the commitment of soldiers and money,” said the political scientist.
“Then there will never be peace”
When it came to the conditions for peace in Ukraine, BSW boss Mohamed Ali not only remained isolated with her opinion, but provoked the sharpest exchange of blows of the evening. What is needed is “the exclusion of Ukraine from NATO membership,” said Mohamed Ali. That is the reason why Putin is waging war.
This claim was immediately dismantled by ZDF correspondent Katrin Eigendorf, who, as a Ukraine reporter, knows the war firsthand. Putin himself finally revealed his motives: he wanted to deny Ukraine its own path and, in the long term, destabilize the whole of Europe. Former Foreign Minister Kuleba added briefly: “Putin attacked Ukraine because Ukraine refused to belong to Russia.”
Finally, Christian Mölling brought the BSW argument to a close in an almost bizarre exchange of blows. “Why don’t you read what Putin himself says and writes?” the political scientist asked the politician Mohamed Ali directly. "He said exactly what it was about. It was about rebuilding the great Russian empire and the ability to influence all those who were once inside that empire. And for that, NATO must disappear." Mohamed Ali replied: “If you argue like that, then there will never be peace.” Mölling's counter: "I don't argue that way, Putin argues that way." When Mohamed Ali then repeated that in this case “peace would never be possible” because this Putin scenario would not happen, Mölling only acknowledged this with a nod: “You see.”
The BSW boss did not let this deter her during the broadcast. And basically no one believed that the current negotiations would end the fighting any time soon. Mölling's sober forecast finally summed up the situation: he believes "that this war will continue until Russia is caught up in the consequences of its own war economy."
