German Chancellor Olaf Scholz sees no point in resuming a dialogue with Vladimir Putin as long as Russia's war in Ukraine continues. When asked by the Tageszeitung when such contact would be possible, the German politician replied:
"When Russia realises that there will be no peace by dictation, and Putin realises that he needs to stop his campaign and withdraw his troops."
Scholz recalled that he last spoke to Putin on the phone in December 2022. According to the chancellor, conversations make sense when they can really affect the situation, but now everything points to the Kremlin's unwillingness to end the war, so Germany "will have to supply weapons and ammunition to Ukraine for a long time to come."
Scholz stressed that he would support Kyiv for as long as necessary.
"We cannot accept that force gives you the right to do whatever you want. Putin wants to move the borders by force. By doing so, he threatens the entire world order in Europe. And what he is doing now was announced earlier. In his articles and speeches, Putin has claimed that Belarus and Ukraine are not independent states but belong to Russia. We should all take this literally," Scholz said.
According to him, Russia is waging an "imperialist war in Ukraine, and we cannot allow it to win".
At the same time, Scholz noted that in this matter "it is important to act wisely".
"That is why I combine my firm support for Ukraine with a policy that prevents the escalation of the war between Russia and NATO," he added.
Earlier, Scholz said that Putin asked him to recognise Crimea as Russian territory on the ninth day of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. According to the chancellor, the Kremlin leader told him over the phone about his view of the situation and voiced options for a compromise, pointing to the need for "demilitarisation and denazification" of Ukraine.
In total, since the beginning of the war, Scholz and Putin have spoken on the phone 11 times, including three times in a trilateral format with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Earlier, the German Chancellor opposed the freezing of the conflict in Ukraine, which would have allowed Russia to maintain its territorial gains.
Background. Macron recently said that if Russia attacks French troops in Ukraine, the US and NATO will not need to intervene – the French president continues to try to change the policy of Western leaders towards Russia to a more aggressive one.