The German government should bring the concept of diplomacy back into its foreign policy and, within its framework, put itself “in the shoes” of Russia in relation to the Ukrainian conflict, Ralf Stegner, a member of the Bundestag from Germany’s ruling Social Democratic Party, has said.
“Put yourself in the shoes of your opponent from his point of view, especially if you don’t share it,” Ralf Stegner told Tagesspiegel.
The politician is convinced that this would be a sound principle of German foreign policy, where at the current moment “nothing much is happening.”
“And it can’t be the right approach. Diplomats exist to conduct diplomacy. They should start doing it again in relation to Russia,” he emphasised.
In his opinion, Berlin should listen to the majority of German citizens who demand a peaceful resolution to the Ukrainian crisis and “listen more closely to what the Russian authorities actually think.”
In addition, Stegner supported the statement of his fellow party member and Prime Minister of the federal state of Brandenburg Dietmar Woidke, who demanded that the German authorities take all possible diplomatic measures to end hostilities in Ukraine.
Earlier, former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said that his friendly relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin could help settle the Ukrainian conflict.
