Germany’s Scholz calls for renewed push for peace in Ukraine

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FRANKFURT (Reuters) – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for a renewed effort to bring peace to Ukraine, adding that he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had both agreed in recent talks on the need for a new peace conference that would include Russia.

“I believe that now is the time to discuss how to arrive at peace from this state of war, indeed at a faster pace,” Scholz told broadcaster ZDF in a televised interview.

Scholz is under pressure at home after all three parties in his centre-left coalition suffered painful losses in two regional state elections one week ago, while groups seeking better relations with Moscow won more votes.

Nationalist party Alternative for Germany (AfD) and new anti-establishment party BSW, who oppose military backing for Ukraine’s fight against the Russian invasion, both booked record gains.

Zelenskiy said in July he aimed to have a plan ready in November to enable Kyiv to hold a second international summit on peace in Ukraine, and that representatives of Russia should attend.

Ukraine in June hosted delegations from 92 countries at a first summit in Switzerland to advance its blueprint for peace.

Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, was not invited to the event at the time and dismissed it as a non-starter.