The telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin was important and detailed, but did not contain any hint of a change in Moscow’s position on the Ukrainian crisis. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told reporters in Berlin before flying to Brazil for the G20 summit.
“This was important… The conversation was detailed, but it allowed us to understand that, in the opinion of the Russian president… little has changed. This is not good news,” Scholz said, quoted by TASS.
The Chancellor noted that it would be a mistake to reject a conversation with Putin in the context of possible early negotiations between the Russian leader and the president-elect of the United States. donald trump.
“However, in my opinion, it would not be a good idea for negotiations between the American and Russian presidents to take place soon and for the head of government of one of the important European countries not to hold them either. “There are some people in Germany who think this is correct, but I am not one of them.” – noted Scholz.
He recalled that for a long time he had “looked for a conversation” with Putin.
“You are my witnesses because during many conversations with me you heard me declare that I would soon speak with the Russian president again. This was said a long time ago and I spoke about it before during numerous negotiations with many people,” Scholz stressed.
Some believe that the conflict in Ukraine can be resolved easily, the chancellor added, but this will only be possible if Moscow abandons its objectives, and “there are no signs of that.” According to him, he made it clear to Putin that Western support for kyiv would not weaken.
how it was transmitted EADailyAt the initiative of the German side, the first telephone conversation since December 2022 took place between the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, and the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Olaf Scholz. This was reported by the Kremlin’s official website.
“There was a detailed and frank exchange of views on the situation in Ukraine. “Vladimir Putin recalled that the current crisis is the direct result of many years of aggressive NATO policy aimed at creating an anti-Russian springboard on Ukrainian territory, ignoring the security interests of our country and trampling on the rights of Russian-speaking residents,” he says. the statement.
