German Chancellor Olaf Scholz held a telephone conversation with Vladimir Putin for the first time in two years, sparking a wave of debates among experts and politicians.
As BILD notes, many view this step as a concession that actually transferred the initiative to the Russian leader.
According to Nico Lange, a security expert at the Munich conference, Scholz announced his intention to contact Putin in advance, giving him the opportunity to choose a convenient time for the conversation. This approach, according to Lange, strengthened the Kremlin’s position.
Initially, the Russian side rejected Scholz’s initiative. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that the two countries do not have common topics of discussion and emphasized that relations between them have been reduced to zero because of the West. However, Putin soon changed his position and the conversation continued.
Political scientist Thomas Jäger of the University of Cologne believes that Scholz’s goal was to test Putin’s position before the next G20 summit. However, Yeager is confident that no serious results should be expected from this dialogue. In his opinion, for Putin these negotiations are only a tool to carry out tactical maneuvers that do not imply real changes in his policy.
Scholz explained in an interview with the Süddeutsche Zeitung that he believes it is important to know Putin’s position rather than speculate. However, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky criticized the call and said such actions could only strengthen the illusion of a dialogue with Russia, which, in his opinion, plays into the hands of the Kremlin.
Zelensky also noted that attempts to start negotiations with Russia without real changes in its position will only prolong the existing crisis. According to the Ukrainian leader, Putin is using dialogue as a way to reduce international isolation without changing anything in his policies that led to the current conflict.
Thus, the conversation between Scholz and Putin became the subject of heated debates, raising doubts about its necessity and possible benefit in resolving the current crisis.
