People in Berlin take part in a protest against the delivery of arms to Ukraine.
Demonstrators in the capitals Paris and Berlin have gathered to call for peace in Ukraine a day after the anniversary of the Russian invasion.
Thousands of people protested in the German capital on Saturday to condemn the government’s arms shipments to Ukraine and call for peace talks to end the war.
Organizers faced criticism ahead of the protest for downplaying Ukraine’s right to defend its territory from Russian aggression and for failing to distance itself from the far right and far left, where pro-Russian views are common.
One of the organizers, opposition MP Sahra Wagenknecht of the former communist party Die Linke, said there was no place for neo-Nazis at the rally, but anyone who wanted peace “with an honest heart” was welcome.
While most placards at the protest reflected traditional left-wing positions, some participants carried banners with the slogan “Americans Go Home” and the logo of a far-right magazine. Some waved Russian flags.
Wagenknecht accused the German government of wanting to “ruin Russia” and said an “offer” should be made to Moscow to resume peace talks.
Another organizer, prominent feminist author Alice Schwarzer, said it was time to look beyond left and right.
The two women also started a petition that has reportedly garnered more than 645,000 signatures.
A woman takes part in a protest against the supply of arms to Ukraine and in support of Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Berlin, Germany [Christian Mang/Reuters]Demonstrators scoffed when she and Wagenknecht mentioned the name of German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who has been a strong advocate for arms sales to Ukraine.
Police said about 13,000 people attended the rally in front of Berlin’s famous Brandenburg Gate, while organizers claimed 50,000 people attended.
One of the participants was Konstantin Schneider, an academic from Berlin, who said he understood that the countries of Eastern Europe were afraid of Russia.
“Naturally [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is an idiot to attack Ukraine,” he said. “But we still have to find new solutions [to the war] instead of saying flatly that there is nothing to negotiate.”
There were several small counter-demonstrations. Thousands of protesters across Europe demonstrated on Friday against Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
In Paris, several hundred people sang Ukraine’s national anthem on the Place de la Republique on Saturday, before Ukrainian children in traditional costume led a procession.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz recently said in a television interview that he currently sees no prospects for peace talks.
“We have to understand that the Russian President currently only accepts one form of negotiations, namely this one [Ukraine] surrenders unconditionally and he achieves all his goals,” Scholz told the public broadcaster ZDF.
People protest in Berlin against arms deliveries to Ukraine [Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters]