Sept. 24, 2023 (EIRNS)—Four German experts have released an in-depth proposal for ending the war in Ukraine before it spirals out of control. It was published Aug. 28, and signed by Professor Dr. Peter Brandt, Professor Dr. Hajo Funke, Gen. Harald Kujat (ret.), and Professor Dr. H.C. Horst Teltschik. Released last month, the proposal has gained renewed attention in recent days (see separate report). The proposal makes reference to the Chinese peace proposal from Feb. 24 this year, but builds on it substantially in what is likely the most thorough plan thus far.
The letter starts off by admitting that while Ukraine has a right to self-defense of its nation, it as well as its allies must attempt: “to exercise reason, not to indulge in the increase of violence and destruction, and to politically promote the attainment of a just and lasting peace.” “Neither Russia nor Ukraine can win this war” they insist, and therefore urgent peace negotiations are required now before the conflict spirals out of control. “There is an increasing risk of escalation to the ‘extreme,’ a military conflict between NATO and Russia, with the real danger of a nuclear war limited to the European continent,” they write.
“Imperial rivalries, national arrogance and ignorance triggered World War I, which has been called the primordial catastrophe of the 20th century. The Ukraine war must not become the primordial catastrophe of the 21st century! The increasing Europeanization of the conflict threatens to slide into a major war between Russia and NATO, which neither side wants and, in view of the acute threat of nuclear catastrophe in such a case, cannot want. It is therefore urgently necessary to stop the escalation before it develops a momentum of its own that can no longer be controlled politically.
“It is now necessary for the European states and the European Union, whose global political weight is constantly being reduced in and by the war, to direct all their efforts toward restoring a stable peace on the continent and thus averting a major European war.”
The authors make a very detailed proposal comprising three phases: 1) Ceasefire, 2) Peace Negotiations, 3) A European Security and Peace Order. The first phase includes the cessation of hostilities and the establishment of a UN-directed commission which will oversee the process. The negotiations phase is more detailed, and includes the withdrawal of troops by both sides and the establishment of security agreements for Ukraine, as well as approaches to resolve the status of the new Donbass republics and Crimea—but only to be “resolved by renouncing military force.”
The final phase then calls for a new security order for Europe, that “can ensure Ukraine’s security and freedom, in which Ukraine and Russia have their place.” It also requires that “Ukraine’s geostrategic position no longer plays a key role in the geopolitical rivalry between the United States and Russia.”
