German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz declared himself ready to resume, “when the time comes”, contact on the subject of Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The two have not spoken since December of last year.
“My last telephone conversation dates back some time. But I have the intention, when the time comes, to discuss with Putin again”, said Scholz in an interview published on Friday by the daily Koelner Stadt-Anzeiger, according to AFP, taken over by Agerpres.
Regarding the resolution of the conflict, “Russia must understand that it cannot be a question of sealing some kind of cold peace, which would make the current front line become the new border between Russia and Ukraine, this will only legitimize Putin’s criminal expedition,” insisted Olaf Scholz.
“On the contrary, we must reach a fair peace, and the condition for doing so is a withdrawal of Russian troops” from Ukraine, after the start of the invasion at the beginning of February 2022, he added.
However, Olaf Scholz refused to say explicitly whether this withdrawal should also include Crimea, occupied since 2014. The German Chancellor appreciated that it is up to Ukraine to define exactly what it wants.
Last discussion in December 2022
Olaf Scholz and Vladimir Putin last spoke in December 2022, for an hour, on the phone. At the time, the head of the German government had again unsuccessfully urged the Russian president to withdraw his troops from Ukraine, while Vladimir Putin accused the West of pursuing “destructive” policies.
Since then, bilateral relations are at their lowest level. The war in Ukraine forced Germany to a painful and spectacular change of diplomatic and economic position, after, for decades, it had bet in these two areas on a rapprochement with Russia.
Before the invasion of Ukraine, Moscow was Germany’s main gas supplier and one of its major oil suppliers.
Following the launch of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Germany also decided to invest heavily in its military. She thus broke with the country’s long tradition of pacifism, a consequence of the Nazi horrors.
Publisher : BP
