Refusal to negotiate with Putin are manifestations of weakness – Scholz

Refusing to talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin would show the political weakness of Germany and the EU, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said during a speech in the Bundestag.

“Everyone knows that it would be absurd and a sign of incredible political weakness if we in Germany and Europe just waited for such phone conversations to be conducted by someone else and we just commented on the news from the TV,” Olaf Scholz replied in response to criticism over his phone conversation with Putin.

At the same time, the German chancellor pointed to the difference in approaches to the Ukrainian crisis between him and the Russian president.

Earlier, the former head of the Israeli intelligence agency Nativ, political analyst Yaakov Kedmi, said that the German chancellor was using the phone conversation with Putin to change his position in the upcoming election.