Volkswagen CEO Herbert dis recently called for a negotiated end to the war in Ukraine to protect global free trade. Unexpectedly, his remarks were bitterly criticized by the Ukrainian foreign minister At the "future of the car" Summit on Monday, dis called on Russia and Ukraine to reach a settlement through negotiation, because the war in Ukraine has been delayed for more than two months, hitting the supply chain and disrupting the global economy
"I think we should try our best to really stop this war, return to the negotiating table and try to open the world again. I don't think we should give up opening markets and free trade. I don't think we should give up negotiations and try to solve problems," dis said at the future of the car summit held by the financial times on May 9
The situation in Russia and Ukraine has led to the intensification of supply chain interruption, which has effectively damaged the interests of Volkswagen and other companies. The shortage of wire harnesses has forced the company to cut production in recent weeks, resulting in almost all of its electric vehicle models sold out in the United States and Europe this year.
"If global trade continues to struggle under adverse circumstances, Europe and Germany will suffer the most. I think it will be bad for the whole world," dis said At present, Germany is studying whether it can deal with the interruption of Russian natural gas supply. A new study by the German government has found that if the supply of natural gas from Russia suddenly stops, the German economy may lose about 12% of its annual output.
However, dis's remarks were strongly condemned by Ukrainian foreign minister dmytro kuleba. Kuleba said: "for large German enterprises, the best strategy is to completely cut off commercial relations with Russia, and then call on Russia to stop the war and resume diplomatic efforts." Andrij Melnyk, Ambassador of Ukraine to Berlin, suggested that dis communicate directly with President Putin to express his views. In March this year, Volkswagen has suspended its production in Russia and its export business to Russia.
Earlier, dis had warned that if the tension between Russia and Ukraine continued, the losses to Germany and Europe would be greater than the COVID-19.