In the second year of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, there is no end to the violence in sight and the global repercussions are becoming increasingly apparent. The European NATO states should prepare for long-term support for Ukraine. This is the assessment of representatives of Germany’s leading peace and conflict research institutes in their Peace Report 2023 presented at the Federal Press Conference on Monday, June 12 – including the co-spokesperson of the research initiative “ConTrust” Prof. Dr. Nicole Deitelhoff and Prof. Dr. Christopher Daase, member of the research initiative.
The Peace Report 2023, entitled “Still no peace”, makes clear recommendations for German policy after the “turning point”. For example, the participating institutes recommend sanctioning the Wagner Group, expanding multilateral arms control and strengthening unstable societies in the Global South. They expressly warn against stopping military support for Ukraine and – as demanded by individual social groups in recent months – relying solely on negotiations. According to the report, the consequence would be that Russia would continue to pursue its expansionist drive and the security situation throughout Europe would deteriorate. Arms deliveries and training assistance would still be necessary to enable Ukraine to defend itself.
Other key points of the Peace Report 2023 are that political protests should be understood as an expression of democratic vitality and should not be criminalized as long as they are not used for extremist messages and are non-violent. That trade relations and economic ties, e.g. between Western countries and China, should not be prematurely and unilaterally dismantled and that a value-oriented feminist foreign and development policy must position itself more decisively than before.
To the press release: Here…
To the opening statement by Prof. Dr. Nicole Deitelhoff at the Federal Press Conference: Here…
