German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD, Republican Party) and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a joint press conference after hours of one-on-one talks. Mr. Scholz met with the Russian president to discuss the situation on the Ukraine-Russia border.
Kay Nietfeld | Image Alliance | Getty Images
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged Russian President Vladimir Putin in an unusual telephone conversation on Friday to start talks with Ukraine that would pave the way for a “just and lasting peace.”
According to a German government spokesperson, during the hour-long telephone conversation, the first in about two years, Scholz also called for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine and reaffirmed Germany’s continued support for Ukraine.
The call came as Russia faces steady advances while Ukraine faces an increasingly difficult situation on the battlefield due to a lack of weapons and personnel.
“The prime minister called on Russia to demonstrate its willingness to engage in talks with Ukraine to achieve a just and lasting peace,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
The spokesperson added: “We underlined Germany’s firm determination to support Ukraine’s defense against Russian aggression for as long as necessary.”
Prior to his phone call with President Putin, Scholz will speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, after which he will brief the Ukrainian leader on the results, the spokesperson said.
Germany is Ukraine’s biggest financial supporter and second-largest arms supplier after the United States, but its future aid to Kiev has become uncertain following Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election. It seems so.
President Trump has repeatedly criticized the scale of Western financial and military aid to Ukraine and suggested he could quickly end the war without explaining how.
Mr. Scholz and Mr. Putin last spoke in December 2022, 10 years after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine and relations with the West were plunged into the deepest freeze since the Cold War. It was a month later.
Scholz, the most unpopular German chancellor in history, is preparing for national elections on February 23, but his Social Democratic Party faces stiff competition from left-wing and far-right parties critical of Germany’s aid to Ukraine. facing.
