BERLIN (AP) — A rally in Berlin calling for peace talks to end the war in Ukraine is expected to draw thousands of people from across the political spectrum Saturday, including the far left and the far right.
The protest and a related “Manifesto for Peace” signed by more than half a million people have been criticized for downplaying Ukraine’s right to defend its territory from Russian aggression and suggesting that Germany should cut the supply of weapons to Kyiv.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in a recent television interview that he doesn’t currently see a prospect for peace talks.
“We need to understand that the Russian president currently accepts only one form of negotiations, which is that (Ukraine) capitulates unconditionally and he achieves all of his aims,” Scholz told public broadcaster ZDF.
Saturday’s protest is organized by Sahra Wagenknecht, a lawmaker with the ex-communist Left party, and prominent feminist author Alice Schwarzer, who told German news agency dpa that the war should not be prolonged further.
“What is stopping us from starting with negotiations now instead of waiting another three years?” she said.
Wagenknecht said nobody would be excluded from taking part in the rally, but Schwarzer told dpa that organizers would crack down on “any form of extreme right propaganda.“
Counter-demonstrations have been organized and the rally, which ends at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, comes a day after about 10,000 people staged a protest in support of Ukraine at the same site.
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