How The Chance Was Lost For A Peace Settlement Of The Ukraine War
The disastrous derailment of early peace efforts to end the war in Ukraine This is a detailed reconstruction of the Ukrainian-Russian peace negotiations in March 2022 and the associated mediation attempts by the then Israeli Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett, supported by President Erdogan and former German Chancellor Schröder. It was drawn up by retired General […]
A groundbreaking German peace proposal for Ukraine that could save us all from an all-out war
At the end of August this year, four highly respected German personalities[1] presented a peace proposal for ending the war in Ukraine through a ceasefire and subsequent peace negotiations: (https://zeitgeschehen-im-fokus.ch/en/newspaper-ausgabe-en/article-translated-in-english.html#article_1565) It is arguably the most comprehensive and groundbreaking peace proposal made by any government, international organization or, as in this case, any private party since […]
The UN Charter must remain the heart and soul of any new peace architecture
This article is a contribution to the German peace movement’s pamphlet on the occasion of this year’s Anti-War Day on September 1st. On this day, 84 years ago, the German Reich marched into Poland and ignited the Second World War, bringing indescribable destruction, misery and suffering to Europe and the world. The UN Charter was […]
Will the Ukraine war be the undoing for the European Union?
With the ending of the division of Europe, we will strive for a new quality in our security relations while fully respecting each other’s freedom of choice in that respect. Security is indivisible and the security of every participating State is inseparably linked to that of all the others. We therefore pledge to co-operate in […]
The war in Ukraine and our obligation to seek peace
The war in Ukraine is now entering its second year without any attempt being made to find a peaceful solution. Instead of initiating peace talks, the warring parties have become further entangled in a dangerous spiral of military escalation by deploying of ever more powerful weapon systems. As if still stuck in the belligerent thinking […]
What are the chances for peace in Ukraine?
Whether there will be a chance for peace in Ukraine depends, above all, on the United States! For the USA, this war is about its geostrategic goals and only geostrategic considerations will persuade the USA to agree to a peace solution. Here are a few thoughts: Not the war, but what led to the war […]
In Ukraine, the aim must be winning peace and not the war
In today’s world that is packed with weapons of mass destruction, hypersonic delivery systems, cyber warfare, space warfare and artificial intelligence capabilities, next to other awful things, any strategy that aims at winning a war militarily risks disaster. This could not be truer for the war in Ukraine where two nuclear powers, Russia and the […]
Reaching a Just and Lasting Peace in Ukraine
Jesus taught the world that peacemakers are blessed, for they are the children of God. As war rages in Ukraine, the world needs peacemakers to help the warring sides to choose peace over continued conflict. The US, European Union, Turkey, China, and other countries should help both sides to feel secure in a negotiated peace […]
Open letter from former UN Assistant Secretary-General on the war in Ukraine
Dear friends, dialog partners and former colleagues, I would like to share with you my most recent article in which I argue that Europe, for its own interest, must push for a negotiated peace settlement to end the war in Ukraine. History will surely come down harsh on Russia and President Putin for having started […]
Ukraine: we need peace now
As we write this article, Russia’s war against Ukraine is going into the fourth week with all its ferocity and there is no end to hostilities in sight. Daily, we see heartbreaking pictures of horrific human sufferings, the killing of civilians caught in the fighting, the deterioration of basic living conditions and the enormous destruction […]