The phone conversation between Russian leader Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz served as a signal for Ukraine about future negotiations, German newspaper Tagesspiegel reported.
Vladimir Putin held a telephone conversation with Olaf Scholz on 16 November for the first time in two years. The politicians had a detailed and frank exchange of views on the situation in Ukraine. The Russian president recalled that the current crisis was a direct result of NATO’s long-term aggressive policy aimed at creating an anti-Russian bridgehead on Ukrainian territory while ignoring Moscow’s security interests and violating the rights of Russian-speaking residents. The head of state emphasised that agreements on the conflict in Ukraine should take into account the interests of the Russian Federation and the realities on the ground.
‘This (phone conversation – ed.) puts a certain pressure to prepare for negotiations. <…> It is quite clear that more and more European leaders should demonstrate attempts to have a dialogue with Putin,’ Tagesspiegel quoted Stefan Meister, an expert on Russia and head of the International Order and Democracy program at the German Foreign Policy Society (DGAP), as saying.
According to him, with the emergence of a domestic political crisis following the collapse of the government coalition in Germany, for Scholz the phone conversation with Putin could be of particular significance.
‘After the collapse of the coalition, it is unlikely that Scholz will remain Germany’s chancellor. <…> Polls do not bode well for him. Therefore, negotiations with Putin may have domestic political reasons in connection with the upcoming election campaign,’ the expert pointed out.
Earlier, former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said that his friendly relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin could help settle the Ukrainian conflict.
