Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has once again shown himself to be convinced that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not win the war in Ukraine. “He has already missed all of his strategic goals,” said Scholz on Thursday in his speech at the end of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“A capture of all of Ukraine by Russia seems further away today than it was at the beginning of the war. More than ever, Ukraine is emphasizing its European future,” said Scholz.
In addition, the “brutality of the Russian war” has welded the Ukrainian nation closer together than ever before and prompted two states to move closer to NATO: “With Sweden and Finland, two close friends and partners want to join the North Atlantic alliance. You are very welcome!” said the Chancellor. Putin also underestimated the unity and strength with which the Group of Seven Industrial Nations (G7), NATO and the EU reacted to his aggression.
Putin wants to go back to a world order in which the stronger dictate what is right, said Scholz. “This is an attempt to bomb us back to a time when war was a common policy tool.” The World Economic Forum in Davos is coming to an end this Thursday after four days. The Russian war of aggression in Ukraine has now lasted more than three months.
Scholz called for new forms of international cooperation. Political partners should no longer only be sought in the same countries, he said. “In this multipolar world, very different countries and regions are demanding a greater political say in line with their growing economic and demographic weight,” said Scholz. He added, “To be clear, 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. “For too long we have practically equated ‘democracy’ with the ‘West’ in the classical sense.”
