The plan for a direct phone call between the German and Russian leaders was initially reported by German media on November 15, while the Kremlin only confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin had a foreign phone call during the day and did not provide further details.
However, the official spokesman for the German cabinet ministers Steffen Hebestreit later said that the phone call between Chancellor Scholz and President Putin took place and lasted nearly 1 hour, according to RT.
Has Ukraine changed its negotiating stance?
According to Mr. Hebestreit, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz persistently urged Russia to be ready to negotiate with Ukraine to achieve a just and lasting peace . The leader also said that the Berlin government was committed to supporting Kyiv for as long as necessary, and that this promise would never be shaken. Mr. Scholz also urged Mr. Putin to end the fighting and withdraw troops.
Both the Kremlin and the German government spokesman reported on the rare phone call between the two countries' leaders.
After Berlin spoke out, the Kremlin said that Putin and Scholz had a frank discussion about the situation in Ukraine, with Putin stressing that any potential agreement to end the fighting in Ukraine must reflect “new territorial realities,” Russia’s security interests, and the roots of the conflict.
Other topics covered included the situation in the Middle East, deteriorating German-Russian relations and energy issues.
TASS quoted German officials as saying that the two leaders agreed to stay in touch.
Before the call, the German Chancellor also contacted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and talked about the upcoming phone call with Mr. Putin.
The call on November 15 marked the first time the German and Russian leaders had spoken directly in nearly two years. According to the Kremlin, the last time Mr. Putin and Mr. Scholz spoke by phone was on December 2, 2022.
President Putin has not spoken to most NATO and Western leaders since launching a special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022.
Within NATO, the Russian leader maintains contacts only with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Comment (0)