Scholz speech in Davos: “Putin will not win his war”

Chancellor Scholz has once again shown himself to be convinced that Russian President Putin will not win the war in Ukraine. In his speech in Davos, Scholz also called for new forms of international cooperation.

In his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Chancellor Olaf Scholz described the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine as a failure. Referring to President Vladimir Putin, Scholz said: “He has already missed all his strategic goals.” A capture of the entire Ukraine by Russia seems “further away today than it was at the beginning of the war”.

Putin also underestimated the “unity and strength” of NATO, the EU and the G7. The goal is “very clear,” said Scholz. “Putin must not win his war. And I am convinced: he will not win it!”

“This is imperialism!”

The chancellor called for opposition to the Russian president’s claim to power. The point is to make it clear to Putin that there will be “no dictated peace” – that is, a peace in which one side determines the conditions. “Ukraine will not accept that – and neither will we.”

The Federal Republic is now delivering weapons to a war zone for the first time, emphasized Scholz. “However, Putin will only seriously negotiate peace if he realizes that he cannot break Ukraine’s defenses,” he said. The Russian war of aggression in Ukraine has now lasted more than three months.

The chancellor warned of dramatic consequences should Russia succeed in invading Ukraine. “Putin wants to go back to a world order in which the stronger dictates what is right; in which freedom, sovereignty and self-determination are not due to everyone,” said Scholz, adding: “That’s imperialism!” This is an “attempt to bomb us back to a time when war was a common political tool, when our continent and the world lacked a stable peace order”.

A “system of international cooperation that consists of the ‘Never again!’ two devastating world wars,” said Scholz. The international community must continue to rely on multilateral cooperation.

Embed China in “rules-bound world order”.

The Chancellor also raised the issue of human rights violations in China. The world should not “ignore when human rights are violated, as we are seeing in Xinjiang”. An international media consortium had previously published further evidence of the mass internment of Uyghurs in the Chinese province of Xinjiang. Photos, speeches and instructions from the authorities documented, among other things, torture and the existence of a shooting order. China’s leadership dismissed the accusations as the “lie of the century.”

In Davos, Scholz expressed concern about China’s growing claim to power. The People’s Republic is now undoubtedly a “global player”. But she shouldn’t “derive the claim of Chinese hegemony in Asia and beyond” from this, he said. There is just as little need to “isolate China,” said Scholz. Rather, the country must be embedded in a multilateral and rule-based world order.

Focus on other world regions

Scholz called for new forms of international cooperation. One should no longer look for political partners in the same countries, said the SPD politician. “In this multipolar world, very different countries and regions are demanding a greater political say in line with their growing economic and demographic weight.” Scholz added: “To put it bluntly: there is no threat in that.”

International cooperation provides answers, said the Chancellor. It’s about progress in future issues. In Asia, Africa and Latin America there are new, aspiring powers that are taking advantage of the opportunities offered by globalization. That’s why he invited South Africa, Senegal, India, Indonesia and Argentina to this year’s summit of seven major industrial nations (G7) in Elmau in Bavaria at the end of June. “They represent countries and regions whose cooperation the world needs in order to make progress on global challenges in the future.”

In view of the upheavals in international trade, Scholz warned of the increasing isolation of economies. “To put it bluntly: de-globalization is a dead end,” he said at the conference, which was attended by many important business representatives. It is true that “many strategic dependencies” have to be reduced. This also includes dependence on energy imports from Russia, which is therefore being ended. The economy achieves more resilience in a crisis-prone world above all by positioning itself more broadly.