Negotiations in the Ukraine war: New advance by Erdogan

Created: 01/12/2023 18:53

By: Moritz Serif, Bedrettin Bölükbasi, Lucas Maier, Christian Stör

Leopard tanks from Poland: The delivery pressure on Germany is increasing.

Meanwhile, Turkey wants to build a humanitarian corridor.

The news ticker.

• Humanitarian corridor:

  Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants to call Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy

• SPD for diplomacy in the Ukraine war:

  Melnyk reacts angrily

• Tank delivery to Ukraine:

  Poland puts Olaf Scholz under pressure with a Leopard offer 

• Editor's note: 

  Read the latest developments from the Ukraine conflict in our new ticker.

  The information on the Ukraine war processed here comes partly from the warring parties in Russia and Ukraine.

  They can therefore not be independently checked in part.

+++ 18:53:

As Turkey's chief ombudsman, Şeref Malkoç, announced, President Recep Erdoğan will support the establishment of a humanitarian corridor in Russia's Ukraine war.

He went on to say that the Turkish President "will have a telephone conversation with Mr. Zelenskyj and Mr. Putin on this matter today or tomorrow." According to the Turkish ombudsman, a joint agreement will then be reached.

He added that the Turkish President's government has already started the necessary work to establish a humanitarian corridor.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan wants to support a humanitarian corridor in the Ukraine war.

(Archive image) © Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Pool Sputnik Kremlin/dpa

Negotiations in the Ukraine war: Germany under tank pressure

+++ 5.11 p.m .:

The Greens in the European Parliament want to personally urge Chancellor Olaf Scholz to deliver battle tanks together with other countries to Ukraine, which has been attacked by Russia.

An amendment by the Greens for a report on EU foreign and security policy states that the European Parliament is calling on Scholz to “initiate a European consortium of relevant European countries to deliver Leopard 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine without further delay deliver".

+++ 16.10:

Defense Minister Christina Lambrecht (SPD) agrees with the words of Mützenich.

"In the times in which we live, we are well advised to adapt to the respective situation," she said, according to the

, during a visit to the troops in Marienberg, Saxony.

She assured that no German would act alone.

However, she did not negate the supply of tanks per se. Currently, Germany is under increasing pressure to supply tanks, especially after Poland decided to send 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.

The Polish government spokesman Piotr Müller had previously emphasized that the decision would also encourage other countries to make deliveries.

Negotiations on the Ukraine war: Mützenich does not rule out the delivery of battle tanks

+++ 15.06:

SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich does not fundamentally rule out the delivery of German battle tanks to Ukraine.

"There are no red lines," said Mützenich on Thursday (January 12) at the start of the parliamentary group retreat in Berlin.

Germany will coordinate closely with the alliance partners on this issue.

Ukraine must get what is important for the right to self-defense.

At the same time, Germany must not be involved in the war.

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Negotiations on the Ukraine war: Habeck doesn't want to let Leopard tanks fail

+++ 2.05 p.m .:

Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) has spoken out in favor of not letting Poland’s planned delivery of Leopard main battle tanks fail due to a German objection.

"There is a difference between making a decision for yourself and preventing others from making a decision," said Habeck in Berlin.

"Accordingly, Germany should not stand in the way of other countries making decisions to support Ukraine, regardless of what decision Germany makes."

With its initiative, Poland itself wants to persuade other countries to act.

When asked why Warsaw had signaled its willingness to hand over battle tanks, government spokesman Piotr Müller told

: "Because we want to enforce certain behaviors.

If we don't defend Ukraine's independence, we are the next target.” Poland therefore wants Ukraine to be able to defend itself and for that it needs equipment.

"This kind of political pressure should lead to other European countries joining," said Müller.

SPD for diplomacy in the Ukraine war - Melnyk: "Germany should know better" 

+++ 12.20 p.m .:

Should Ukraine get German Leopard tanks?

This is still hotly debated.

The SPD parliamentary group wants to put a different emphasis on their exam.

The word Panzer does not appear in the draft position paper.

It's about diplomacy.

The former Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, considers the approaches of the SPD paper to be completely wrong.

"Wars are almost always decided on the battlefield," Melnyk wrote on Twitter.

"Germany should know better." 

Negotiations on the Ukraine war: Poland puts Scholz under pressure with a Leopard offer 

+++ 10.35 a.m .:

Poland wants to leave Leopard main battle tanks to Ukraine.

A company of Leopard tanks will be transferred to Ukraine "as part of building an international coalition," President Duda's chancellery said.

However, a permit from Berlin is required for the delivery of German products.

So is Germany part of this “coalition” and already in the know?

In any case, the pressure on Olaf Scholz increases before the next summit in Ramstein, Palatinate.

"The chancellor is caught in the leopard trap," believes ex-NATO general Hans-Lothar Domröse.

"Of course you have to look at the Polish advance with a view to the Ramstein summit next week," said Domröse to the

.

Negotiations on the Ukraine war: food crisis – Baerbock travels to Ethiopia

+++ 8.25 a.m .:

Against the background of the food crisis forced by Russia, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) traveled to Ethiopia.

The food situation in the African country is very tense due to a dramatic drought.

Experts expect that this will worsen further as a result of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine.

Ethiopia is heavily dependent on grain and fertilizer supplies from Russia and Ukraine.

Negotiations on the Ukraine war: Poland agrees to supply Leopard main battle tanks from Estonia

+++ 7.45 a.m .:

More weapons for Ukraine could come as Estonia.

Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's foreign minister, talked about the "military needs of Ukraine that can be met by Estonia".

It has not yet been announced which weapon systems the conversation with his Estonian counterpart Urmas Reinsalu was about.

During the conversation, Kuleba also thanked Estonia for its efforts to establish a compensation mechanism, as he writes on Twitter.

It is an important element of the Ukrainian peace formula.

Negotiations on the Ukraine war: Medvedev speaks of "rusty scrap metal"

+++ 7.15 a.m .:

While former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev describes western arms deliveries as “rusty scrap metal”, Lithuania has promised more anti-aircraft weapons for Ukraine.

This is reported by the

in the morning.

With the words "Many thanks to President Duda, the Polish government and all our Polish friends," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked him on Wednesday evening (January 11) for the promised Leopard tanks.

Poland wants to deliver 14 main battle tanks to Ukraine.

In addition, the neighboring country is working on forming an international coalition for tank deliveries.

Update from Thursday, January 12, 2023,

6:20 a.m.: Slovakian President Zuzana Čaputová approved seven Slovakian citizens to join the Ukrainian armed forces.

A total of 26 applications were decided.

The remaining 19 applications were rejected.

Slovaks are banned from serving in non-NATO armies without permission, according to the Ukrainian online newspaper

.

Negotiations on the Ukraine war: Great Britain pledges tanks

+++ 8:55 p.m .:

After Poland, the British government has now also announced that it will deliver tanks to Ukraine to support their fight against Russia, as reported by the

.

According to the report, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak urged his Defense Secretary Ben Wallace to "work with partners" in the coming weeks to "move further and faster with our support to Ukraine, including the deployment of tanks".

Negotiations on the Ukraine war: Poland announces delivery of tanks

+++ 3:55 p.m .:

Poland is ready to deliver Leopard main battle tanks to Ukraine as part of an international coalition.

Polish President Andrzej Duda said this at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda in Lviv, western Ukraine.

"A company of Leopard main battle tanks will be handed over as part of a coalition that is forming," Duda said.

For his part, Nauseda stated that he wanted to supply air defense systems to Ukraine.

According to the Unian news agency, he assured that Lithuania and Poland would continue to support Ukraine.

Putin speaks of "difficult" situation - negotiations on the Ukraine war

+++ 3.20 p.m .:

Around ten and a half months after the start of the war against Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin described the situation in the illegally annexed areas of Ukraine as “difficult”.

"Combat operations are ongoing in some areas," Putin stressed during talks with government officials, adding: "But all this is no reason to pause and postpone the most pressing issues." Putin instructed the Russian cabinet to Months to draw up a plan for the development of the Kherson, Zaporizhia, Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

It is about infrastructure and social services.

News on the Ukraine war: Kyiv and Moscow agree on new prisoner exchange in Ankara

+++ 1:15 p.m .:

Russia and Ukraine have agreed on a new prisoner exchange in Turkey.

This was reported by the British broadcaster Sky News.

At a meeting in Ankara on the sidelines of an ombudsman conference, Russian human rights commissioner Tatiana Moskalkova and her Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Lubinets agreed to exchange 40 prisoners of war.

News about the Ukraine war: Stoltenberg calls for more help for Kyiv - "must do more"

+++ 12.10 p.m .:

After Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens), NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has again spoken out in favor of more arms deliveries to the Ukrainian military.

The recent fighting in eastern Ukraine showed "how crucial it is that we expand our military support," emphasized Stoltenberg on Wednesday in Brussels.

Stoltenberg also emphasized that the support of the NATO countries "makes a real difference in this crucial phase of the war".

He turned to the Allies: "We have to do more and even faster." Next Friday, the allies will discuss increasing military aid at the US military base in Ramstein, Rhineland-Palatinate.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin chairs the third meeting of the so-called Ukraine Contact Group.

According to US information, Federal Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) has also been invited.

News on the Ukraine war: peace talks?

Kremlin currently sees “no prospect”

+++ 10.55 a.m .:

 Russia still considers peace talks with Ukraine to be impossible.

However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov blamed the political leadership of Ukraine and the West.

According to the state agency TASS, Peskov emphasized that Ukrainian law prohibits the Ukrainian president from engaging in dialogue with Russia.

At the same time, the West is not ready to "allow Kyiv flexibility in this matter".

Therefore, there is currently no prospect of negotiations.

When asked, the Kremlin spokesman also commented on the situation in Soledar in eastern Ukraine.

"Let's not rush, let's wait for official statements," he underscored.

Pro-Russian mercenaries reported on Tuesday (January 10) that the city in Donetsk had been taken.

So far, however, there is no official confirmation.

In addition, Peskov spoke of a "positive dynamic" for Russia in the course of the war.

Tactical successes are very important.

"But military success is achieved when we achieve the goals set by the supreme commander in the course of the military special operation," he emphasized at the same time.

Ukraine War: Debate over tank supplies to Ukrainian military

First report from Wednesday, January 11th:

Berlin – The debate about the delivery of Western battle tanks to Ukraine is still in full swing.

The President of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has spoken out in favor of supplying the Ukraine with Leopard 2 tanks.

"I think Ukraine should get the military equipment it needs and can use to defend its homeland," she said in Brussels on Tuesday (10 January).

Ukraine hopes for delivery of Leopard tanks

On the other hand, the delivery of Challenger 2 battle tanks is under discussion in Great Britain.

According to a report by TV broadcaster

, up to ten vehicles could go to Ukraine.

Corresponding discussions have been going on for weeks.

The British Ministry of Defense has not yet commented on this.

The number of tanks in itself is probably not decisive.

report said

, but such a move would encourage other states to supply main battle tanks, the broadcaster quoted a "Ukrainian source".

The British Army operates around 450 Challenger 2 tanks.

More than 3600 pieces of the Leopard 2 main battle tank were built.

They are used in many countries.

In addition to Poland, possible partners for a delivery could also be Finland and Spain.

The German armaments company Rheinmetall had also offered deliveries in the past.

(cs/dpa)