Chancellor Olaf Scholz maintain open communication with Russian leader Vladimir Putin:
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, representing the Social Democrat party, has confirmed that he will continue to keep communication open with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Despite not being “impolite in tone”, Scholz emphasized that there is clear consensus within the government that annexation of parts of Ukraine into Russia is “unacceptable”.
The focus of the conversations is how to effectively create a solution to the current situation – a war that has already claimed “hundreds of thousands of lives”, according to Scholz. In this sense, Scholz has made it clear that it is up to Putin to withdraw troops from Ukraine in order to avoid a possible war between Russia and NATO.
The Chancellor has also voiced criticism towards Ukraine’s current requests for combat aircraft, a decision which potentially creates a “competition” for Western countries to supply weapons to Ukraine, something he believes creates the perception of lack of seriousness and undermines confidence in the decisions of the state.
It remains to be seen what strategies and methods Chancellor Scholz will continue to apply in order to effectively negotiate with Putin on the current situation in Ukraine.
