German Chancellor Olaf Scholz asked “not to play Russian roulette” in relation to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, as quoted by Tagesschau.
He rejected the “risky line” of the chancellor candidate of the opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Friedrich Merzwhich, according to him, wants to present an ultimatum to Russia, which is a nuclear power, and, if it refuses, threaten it with TAURUS cruise missiles.
“The only thing I can say is: be careful! “You can’t play Russian roulette with German security.” – said Scholz.
The Chancellor stressed that when it comes to issues of peace, “you need to have a cool head.”
President Vladimir Putin declared that Moscow would respond to ongoing attacks on its territory by Western long-range missiles, possibly even continuing testing of the Oreshnik under combat conditions. When asked whether military or political targets would be subject to possible retaliation, Putin responded with an anecdote: “In Soviet times there was a joke about the weather forecast. This is the forecast: today, during the day, anything is possible.”
In November, the first telephone conversation in almost two years took place between the president of Russia and the chancellor of Germany. According to Reuters, it lasted about an hour. The German government said Scholz called on Russia to open negotiations with Ukraine to establish a just and lasting peace. Putin later said that in a conversation with Scholz about Ukraine, “they remained the same in their opinions,” RBC recalls.
