Grimma (dpa/sn) - More than a dozen Saxon local politicians and the Free Voters support Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer's (CDU) stance on a quick end to the war in Ukraine. "The prime minister is absolutely right when he advocates a ceasefire. It is a historic duty, especially for us Germans, to do everything we can to suspend this conflict or, even better, end it," said Matthias Berger, the non-party mayor of Grimma Wednesday. There is great misunderstanding among the population that only arms deliveries are being discussed and not diplomatic efforts.
In recent weeks, Kretschmer has repeatedly demanded that Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine must be "frozen" and that this can only be done through negotiations. He did not see this as linked to Ukraine's renunciation of its own national territory. But it is about ending the suffering of the people and making sure that the war does not plunge the whole world into chaos. Kretschmer had to take a lot of criticism for his argument.
The declaration lists 17 Lord Mayors and Mayors as well as the Free Voters as supporters. In her opinion, the sanctions against Russia should also be reviewed. One must examine whether they can pave the way towards peace and what damage they inflict on the German economy and society in return. Not only has the price of gas multiplied as a result of the sanctions, but electricity now costs ten times as much on the electricity exchange.
"It's all madness. We are close to the people who don't know how they should pay their energy costs in the future, and therefore we take their concerns very seriously," explained Holm Große, Mayor of Bischofswerda. The federal government's relief packages so far are far from covering what people can expect in the future. Rolf Schmidt, mayor of Annaberg-Buchholz, recalled the decision-makers' oath of office in Berlin to avert harm from the German people.
Thomas Weidinger, head of the Free Voters, reminded that East German companies in particular are dependent on Russian gas supplies and need planning security. So far, there have been no statements as to the conditions under which sanctions should be lifted, at least in part. There is talk of victory and defeat, but nobody knows how these terms are actually defined in this conflict.
