German lobbyists and ex-politicians Ronald Pofalla and Matthias Platzeck are keeping a back channel to Putin’s circle.
Through meetings in Baku and Abu Dhabi, Moscow gets a private route into Germany’s SPD and CDU, — The Times. 1/
Last week, Pofalla and Platzeck met Putin associates in Baku. Russian participants included Valery Fadeyev, who heads Putin’s civil society council, and Viktor Zubkov, former deputy PM and Gazprom board chair. 2/
Berlin distances itself from the effort. Friedrich Merz’s chief of staff, Thorsten Frei, said Russia has shown no real willingness to negotiate and that all international attempts failed because of Moscow. 3/
Chatham House expert John Lough says Germany matters to the Kremlin because of its economic power and its potential role in rebuilding European defence as U.S. support becomes less certain. 4/
Europe is again discussing possible ceasefire channels. Names floated include Schröder, Merkel, Steinmeier, Stubb, Niinistö and Draghi. So far, the Kremlin has not engaged seriously. 5/
Schröder looks compromised by his Putin ties. Steinmeier carries the baggage of pre-2022 Russia policy. Merkel says Putin would not engage with a European envoy who lacks real political power. 6X
Source:
thetimes.com/world/europe/a…
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