Chancellor Scholz has spoken to Russian President Putin on the phone. The ARD capital studio learned from government circles that the call lasted an hour. The Süddeutsche Zeitung had previously reported on it.
Scholz called on Putin to “negotiate with Ukraine”. These must have the goal of “a just and lasting peace”, explained government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit after the call. The Chancellor again condemned “the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and called on President Putin to end it and withdraw troops”.
Condemnation of Russian air strikes
Government circles said that the Chancellor had particularly condemned the Russian air strikes against civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. He also stressed that sending North Korean soldiers to Russia for combat missions against Ukraine would lead to a serious escalation and expansion of the conflict.
Scholz declared that none of Russia’s war aims had been achieved, government sources said. In the phone call, the Chancellor urged Russia to be willing to enter into serious negotiations with Ukraine with the aim of achieving a just and lasting peace. He stressed Germany’s unwavering determination to support Ukraine in its defensive struggle for as long as necessary. Scholz and Putin agreed to “stay in touch”.
According to his government spokesman, the Chancellor spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday. Scholz now plans to call him again afterwards.
Last personal meeting shortly before the invasion
Scholz and Putin last spoke on the phone for an hour on December 2, 2022. The Chancellor is currently trying to hold a second Ukraine peace conference after a summit in Switzerland last summer, which Russia could also attend. So far, however, there is no date in sight. The West has largely shut down communication channels with Moscow because of the Russian attack on Ukraine, which began in February 2022.
The last time Scholz met Putin in person was a good week before the Russian attack on Ukraine during his inaugural visit to Moscow. Because of Corona, both sat at a huge oval table meters apart in the Kremlin. After the invasion, there were a few phone calls, but then no more. This was mainly due to Russia’s war in Ukraine and the lack of prospects of concrete results.
Scholz: “I’m not doing this alone”
Scholz had repeatedly said in recent months that he was ready to talk to Putin. He just wanted to find the right time. On the ARD program Caren Miosga, the Chancellor explained on Sunday that this time could come “soon”. “Yes, I have decided to speak to the Russian president at the right time. But I am a responsible politician, I am not doing this alone.” A conversation with Putin requires many contacts and conversations with many others.
The G20 summit is likely to be the reason for the conversation
The timing of the conversation is likely to be related to the upcoming G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which Scholz is leaving for on Sunday. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is also expected there.
Putin himself canceled his participation in the summit on October 18 so as not to “disturb the normal work of the forum,” which has other topics. There is an international arrest warrant against Putin from the International Criminal Court in The Hague for alleged war crimes in Ukraine. He would risk being arrested in Brazil.
The G20 of the leading economic powers of all continents is the only discussion format in which Russia and the NATO states still sit at the same table at a high level.
Scholz is not planning to talk to Lavrov there. However, according to sources close to him, he will speak to Chinese President Xi Jinping about the war in Ukraine, who is considered Putin’s most important ally.
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