Head of German populist party demands talks with Russia to end war

Sahra Wagenknecht, the head of new German populist party BSW, called for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine on Thursday.

"I find it so annoying when people always come at us with their big morals saying you can't talk to Putin for moral reasons," she said at the final rally of the "Never Again War" demonstration, held as the nation marks German Unity Day.

"For me, any politician who starts a war is a criminal," said Wagenknecht, adding she objects to double standards. "What about the many US politicians who were responsible for the many, many wars in recent years," she said, claiming these killed millions of people. "Are they not criminals?"

Wagenknecht accused the German government of blindly following Washington. "We are once again on the verge of US medium-range missiles being stationed in Germany. My God, this is madness," she said. "We must not go further in this direction. What is happening is damn dangerous."

This year's rally opposes the planned stationing of the US missiles in Germany, among other calls.