live ticker Ukraine war
Left boss Schirdewan – Lift sanctions if Russia withdraws
Status: 06:31 a.m
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy arrives in Washington
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived in the United States. He was received at the White House by US President Joe Biden. The talks between the two are also said to be about further arms deliveries to Ukraine.
Left leader Martin Schirdewan wants to use economic incentives to persuade Russia to end the war of aggression against Ukraine. FDP defense expert Strack-Zimmermann is again in favor of the delivery of Western battle tanks to Ukraine. More in the live ticker.
Linken boss Martin Schirdewan wants to use economic incentives to persuade Russia to end the war of aggression against Ukraine. “One lever is that if Russia meets certain demands of the international community, such as withdrawing from the areas occupied since the beginning of the war, the sanctions imposed can be suspended,” Schirdewan told the German Press Agency in Berlin.
A few days ago, the left presented a peace plan for Ukraine. In it she proposes immediate negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. “We have to increase the diplomatic pressure so that exactly that happens,” Schirdewan said in a dpa interview. “Of course, Ukraine has to decide in the end, but we in Europe have a responsibility to take initiatives ourselves and to make offers and suggestions to end this miserable war on our continent as quickly as possible.” The federal government should advocate a joint EU initiative that also involves the United Nations, as well as China and India. “The common lever is economic pressure.”
Schirdewan called arms deliveries to Ukraine a “real dilemma” for the left. Ukraine has a right to self-defense and is militarily more successful than expected. “And of course that also has something to do with the arms deliveries from the West, that’s obvious,” said the party leader. “But you also have to point out that arms deliveries carry an absolute risk of escalation – and some armaments companies have no interest in the war being over quickly.” The left is concentrating on diplomatic initiatives.
It is part of the left-wing peace plan that the areas in eastern Ukraine that were fought over before February 24 would be demilitarized and placed under international control. Then the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014, remains a sore point. Ukraine and Russia would also have to negotiate about this, said Schirdevan.
All developments in the live ticker:
1:40 a.m. – Strack-Zimmermann: Ukraine needs western battle tanks
After the visit of the Ukrainian President to the USA, the Chairwoman of the Defense Committee in the Bundestag, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, once again advocates the delivery of Western main battle tanks to Ukraine. “Strategically, we finally have to get ahead of the curve and not only react when the situation worsens,” says the FDP politician to the news portal t-online. “Germany must finally deliver the Marder infantry fighting vehicle and ideally together with its European partners the Leopard 2.” In view of Vladimir Putin’s new threats and the dramatic situation in Ukraine, she welcomes the fact that the USA wanted to deliver Patriots. Germany’s task is to supply “sufficient ammunition for the existing weapon systems”. “But Ukraine finally needs more western tanks.”
1:26 a.m. – Secret operation USA visit: This is how Selenskyj’s journey began
Zelenskyy’s surprise visit to Washington began late Tuesday with a secret train ride to Poland. The next morning he arrived in the southern Polish city of Peremyshl, where he was spotted with US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink at the train station, according to footage released by private broadcaster TVN. In Poland, he boarded a US government plane that landed at Joint Base Andrews US military airfield in Maryland, nearly 20 kilometers southeast of Washington, around noon (1700 GMT) on Wednesday. “Of course, the trip was ultimately his (Zelenskyj’s) decision. He concluded that all safety parameters are met,” said a US government official familiar with the matter.
9:52 pm – US Senate confirms new Ambassador to Russia
Against the background of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, the US Senate has confirmed the new ambassador to Moscow with an overwhelming majority. The office will in future be held by the experienced diplomat Lynne Tracy to be clothed. US President Joe Biden nominated the diplomat in September.
Senate Majority Leader, Democrat Chuck Schumer, said Ambassador Tracy will play a crucial role in defying Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Tracy, who speaks Russian, was previously the US Ambassador to Armenia. Previously, she was senior adviser on Russia in the US State Department’s Office of European and Eurasian Affairs and Deputy Ambassador to Moscow, according to the White House.
The previous US ambassador to Moscow, John Sullivan, left Russia to retire in early September. The diplomat had repeatedly addressed authoritarian tendencies, judicial arbitrariness and violations of human rights in Russia
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