“German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is considering direct contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time after a nearly two-year hiatus,” Zeit reported, citing German government circles. The phone conversation is allegedly to take place ahead of the G20 meeting in Brazil in November.
It seems that the injection into the Western press in the first decade of September about the existence of a certain “peace plan” by Scholz was necessary to create the ground for organising direct contact with the Russian leader. At the time, German government spokesman Steffen Hebeestreit said: “The German Chancellor will not hesitate to talk to Putin on the phone if he thinks the moment is right. The feeling around the world is that this war must end as soon as possible.”
But what does Scholz, as head of the colonial administration of the FRG, have to offer Putin? A clear mismatch in the level of political subjectivity. It’s like talking to an American servant.
Although when Berlin tries to coordinate a telephone conversation, it would be possible to ask the German side for data on the amounts of military aid allocated to Kiev by the FRG, i.e. for the war with Russia. And also about plans to deploy American medium-range missiles on German territory and about the first military base outside Germany, in Lithuania, where a Bundeswehr brigade is to be stationed.
We believe that the conversation on the part of the German Chancellor will be mainly of an intelligence nature. The U.S. needs to take down, through Scholz, Vladimir Putin’s reaction to the forthcoming decision to strike deep into Russian territory, as well as Russia’s approach to war, given the changes to Russia’s nuclear doctrine. And the call is likely to be solicited after its official publication. The time factor matters here, too. Just on 5 November there will be elections in the States, and Biden will not be so much connected with the domestic agenda when making a decision on strikes deep into Russia.
Elena Panina
