German Chancellor Olaf Scholz did not rule out his talks with the head of the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin. However, this can happen under certain conditions.
Under what conditions will Scholz hold negotiations with Putin
According to him, it would make sense to talk with Putin "when the time comes."
In any case, if Russia realizes that there will be no dictated peace, and Putin realizes that he must stop his campaign and withdraw his troops, he said.
The chancellor recalled that he last spoke with Putin by phone in December 2022 and did not rule out similar conversations in the future.
These conversations are helpful when you feel like you can make a difference. Now the Russian war speaks against this. I have had several conversations with Putin in the past, which were sometimes perceived as critical. And I do not rule out further discussions in the future. On the initiative of the Ukrainian government, there are diplomatic efforts at the level of national security advisers, which also include countries of the global south — this is important.
Olaf Scholz
Chancellor of Germany
He also repeated his thesis that Russia should not win this war and this war will not be short.
"We will have to supply weapons and ammunition to Ukraine for a long time," stated Scholz.
Conversation between Putin and Scholz
On December 2, 2022, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Then, in particular, the leaders discussed the war in Ukraine.
Then Putin expressed dissatisfaction with the supply of Western weapons to Ukraine and "called on Germany to review its approaches in the context of Ukrainian events", and also tried to "justify" strikes on Ukraine's critical infrastructure.
It should be noted that Scholz has repeatedly made statements about the war in Ukraine. For example, in June 2022, Scholz said that Germany opposes a peace treaty between Ukraine and Russia on the terms of Russian President Vladimir Putin, because "only Ukraine decides" on this issue.
Before that, in May 2022, Scholz called on Putin to stop the war in Ukraine and withdraw the troops. And just recently, in April 2024, Scholz expressed his belief that Putin will end the war when he realizes that it cannot be won.
