Germany is caught between a rock and a hard place. Germany needs to force a Ukraine War settlement now or face total economic disaster.
Too late. The window for a peace settlement both Russia and Ukraine could accept has long passed. Besides, Germany can’t force a peace settlement. Only the US and Russia can make a peace. Our aims are (and always were): total withdrawal of all Russian troops from Ukraine including Crimea, regime change, breakup of Russia, Ukraine in NATO. This is, of course, unacceptable to Russia.
Russian aims were originally: some autonomy for Donetsk and Luhansk as per Minsk II, agreement that Ukraine would not join NATO (and,very likely, removal of NATO forces, bases and missiles, etc. from Ukraine), and Russia keeps Crimea.
We repeatedly refused implementation of Minsk and insisted Ukraine would join NATO.
Now, Russia wants to keep Crimea and whatever swath of eastern Ukraine they can take.
After calling for regime change, all the gleeful chatter about the breakup of Russia, calling Putin a war criminal (you don’t negotiate with those), claiming the fate of Western civilization hangs on winning the war in Ukraine, etc. — well, no room for either side to negotiate or make peace now. We have made it into an existential war on both sides (NATO’s and Russia’s).
Had the gang in Washington prudently treated this as a regional border war then, yes, there might still be some chance for a peace deal. But they did not, and so there is not. This is why it’s so dangerous.