Germany Scholz talks to Putin on the phone for the first time in two years

After almost two years of radio silence, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the phone again. According to the German Press Agency, the conversation lasted an hour. Nothing was initially revealed about the content of the conversation. The "Süddeutsche Zeitung" first reported on it.

Scholz and Putin last spoke on the phone for an hour on December 2, 2022. The Chancellor is currently trying to organize a second Ukraine peace conference after a summit in Switzerland last summer, which Russia could then also attend. So far, however, there is no date in sight.

The West has largely shut down channels of communication with Moscow due to the Russian attack on Ukraine, which began in February 2022.

Last personal meeting shortly before the invasion

The last time Scholz met Putin in person was just over a week before the Russian attack on Ukraine during his inaugural visit to Moscow. Due to coronavirus, the two sat at a huge oval table in the Kremlin, meters apart. After the invasion, there were still a few phone calls, but these then broke off. This was mainly due to the Russian war in Ukraine and the lack of any concrete results.

Scholz: "I am not doing this on my own"

In recent months, Scholz had repeatedly said that he was willing to talk to Putin. He just wanted to find the right time. On ARD television on Sunday, the Chancellor explained that this time could come "soon". "Yes, I have resolved to speak to the Russian president at the right time. But I am a responsible politician, I am not doing this on my own." A conversation with Putin would require many contacts and discussions with many others.

G20 summit is likely to be the reason for the talks

The timing of the meeting is likely to be linked to the upcoming G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which Scholz will attend on Sunday. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is also expected to attend.

Putin himself had canceled his participation in the summit on October 18 so as not to "disrupt the normal work of the forum", which had other topics. An international arrest warrant has been issued against Putin by the International Criminal Court in The Hague for alleged war crimes in Ukraine. He would risk arrest 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 around a table at a high level. Scholz is not planning any talks with Lavrov there. However, according to sources close to him, he will discuss the Ukraine war with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is considered Putin's most important ally.

Scholz also spoke to Selensky beforehand

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi has not been invited to the G20 summit. Scholz spoke to him on the phone on Wednesday evening to discuss the military and humanitarian situation in Ukraine. It is quite possible that the Chancellor prepared Zelensky for the phone call with Putin during the conversation.

"The Federal Chancellor reaffirmed Germany's continued and unwavering solidarity with Ukraine in the face of Russia's aggression, which has now been ongoing for almost 1,000 days," government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit announced afterwards. "He assured that Germany would continue its support for Ukraine, including in the military sphere, in close coordination with European and international partners."

Shortly before, however, Scholz had reiterated in the Bundestag that Germany would not supply Ukraine with the Taurus cruise missiles with a range of 500 kilometers that Ukraine wanted.

Kremlin sees nervousness in the West after Trump's victory

Following Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election, Russia had once again signaled a fundamental willingness to engage in dialogue on Ukraine - including with Scholz. Moscow sees nervousness in the West with regard to Ukraine. It is premature to talk about changes in the Europeans' positions now, it said, "but there are official statements from European representatives who are talking about continuing their general line of providing all kinds of support. And in Russian, that means pumping weapons into Ukraine to continue this war to the end," said Peskov.

During the election campaign, Trump had announced that he would end the war in Ukraine within a very short time through a deal with Russia. He did not give any details. Putin congratulated Trump on his election victory last week and showed himself to be open to dialog. At the same time, he emphasized that Trump was unpredictable and that it therefore remained to be seen what would follow his announcements.

Moscow denies talks between Putin and Trump

On Monday, Keml spokesman Peskov denied a report in the "Washington Post" that Putin and Trump had spoken on the phone after the US election. "There was no conversation," said Peskov. "It's pure fiction, it's simply false information." Russia remains open to talks, he added. However, Putin did not want to be the first to call because it was not Russia but the West that broke off contact.

SDA