Amid recession, Chancellor Gerrman plans talks with Vladimir Putin

The leaders last spoke by phone in early December.

Sedan:

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says he plans to speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin “in due course”, offering the possibility of resuming contact after a near-total break in relations since the Ukraine war.

“My last phone call was some time ago,” Scholz told the Koelner Stadt-Anzeiger newspaper in an interview published on Friday. “But I plan to speak to Putin again in due course.”

The leaders last spoke by phone in early December.

During that hour-long call, Scholz urged Putin to withdraw Moscow’s troops from Ukraine, while the Russian leader accused the West of “destructive” policies.

Since then, tensions have only risen between Moscow and Berlin, particularly over the Scholz government’s decision in January to allow the shipment of German-made heavy main battle tanks to Ukraine.

In the interview, Scholz insisted that his goal remains “actively supporting Ukraine” but “at the same time avoiding a direct conflict between NATO and Russia.”

“And never act alone, but in close coordination with our friends and allies,” he said.

Asked about the prospect of stopping the conflict through negotiations, Scholz said Putin had to understand that the war could not end with “some kind of cold peace.”

“For example, turning the current front line into the new ‘border’ between Russia and Ukraine,” he said.

“Rather it is about a just peace, and the prerequisite for that is the withdrawal of Russian troops,” he added.

Ties between Russia and Germany were frozen deep after Moscow sent its forces to Ukraine in February last year.

The invasion and Moscow’s decision to cut gas supplies to Europe hit Germany particularly hard, as the country had come to rely on low-cost Russian energy to fuel its economy.

The conflict has led Germany to abandon a traditionally anti-war stance, with Berlin sending a barrage of arms to help Kiev in its fight against Moscow.

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