Davos: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday said Russian President Vladimir Putin cannot be allowed to win his war in Ukraine and sought to end any dependence on Russian fuels, even as he asserted that deglobalisation was not going to work.
In a special address on the last day of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2022, Scholz said it was not only the statehood of Ukraine that was at stake, but also the system of international cooperation, designed in the aftermath of two world wars to the vow of "never again".
A system that subjects power to law, bans violence and guarantees freedom, security and prosperity is also at stake, he asserted.
He, however, said Putin's war was not the sole reason for a global watershed moment.
"In this multipolar world, very different countries with growing influence are demanding a greater political participation. This is not a threat. We will open up new ways of cooperation," he said.
The chancellor further said, "One thing is clear -- deglobalisation is the wrong track. It will not work. We need a different globalisation that promotes smart and sustainable solutions to climate change as well as solidarity-based action in the food crisis or in the fight against pandemics."
Speaking about the need to resist Russia's aggression against Ukraine, he said, "Our goal is therefore crystal clear -- we cannot allow Putin to win this war."
"A major nuclear power is behaving as if it had the right to redraw borders. Putin wants a return to a world order in which strength dictates what is right; in which freedom, sovereignty and self-determination are simply not for everyone.
"That is imperialism. That is an attempt to blast us back to a time when war was a common instrument of politics, when our continent and the world were without a stable peaceful order," he said.
Scholz noted that Russia's invasion has led to an unprecedented closing of ranks among Western nations.
"Putin underestimated the unity and vigour with which the G7, NATO and the EU would respond to his aggression," he said. "Working together, we have imposed sanctions that are tougher and further-reaching than any previously imposed on a country of Russia's size."
The chancellor also urged leaders to accelerate the energy transition.
"Now we have even more cause to move away from fossil fuels than before. Ultimately, our goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2045 has been given an additional boost by Putin's war."
He pointed to German plans to phase out imports of Russian oil by the end of 2022, adding, "We are also working flat out to end our reliance on Russian gas."
Germany plans to nearly triple its rate of emission reductions by 2030 and increase renewables' contribution to the country's energy mix to 80 per cent by the end of this decade.
He also said the 2020s will be years of change, renewal and rebuilding, and that he is looking forward to a more hopeful future for Europe.