German diplomat Christoph Heusgen has reiterated Ukrainian statements that there could be no negotiations, including any settlement with Putin after his commission of a “breach of civilization.”
Some in foreign policy have suggested that the West must moderate its criticism on Putin because the only way to end the war would be a negotiated settlement made between the West and Putin. The implication is that this would force Ukraine to concede, despite Ukraine itself ruling out any concessions. Heusgen instead challenged this appeasement, including Macron’s idea that the west should avoid “humiliating Putin,” stating that the path of the war and its consequences was up to Ukraine itself and not the West, who themselves are not directly engaged in the conflict.
Heusgen also challenged the notion that the question that many states faced over condemning Russia or enforcing sanctions was an East-West conflict, stating that Putin’s actions were a violation of the UN charter itself and the rules based order, “the basis for our civilization,” and were not based on parochial cultural differences.