The leaders final spoke by phone in early December.
Berlin:
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says he plans to talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin “in the end”, holding out the prospect of resuming contact after a near-total breakdown in relations because the Ukraine battle.
“My final phone name was a while in the past,” Scholz informed the Koelner Stadt-Anzeiger newspaper in an interview printed Friday. “However I plan to talk to Putin once more in the end.”
The leaders final spoke by phone in early December.
Throughout that hour-long name, Scholz urged Putin to withdraw Moscow’s troops from Ukraine, whereas the Russian chief accused the West of pursuing “damaging” insurance policies.
Since then, tensions have solely escalated between Moscow and Berlin, significantly over the choice by Scholz’s authorities in January to permit German-made heavy battle tanks to be despatched to Ukraine.
Within the interview, Scholz insisted that his intention remained to “actively help Ukraine”, however “on the similar to stop a direct battle between NATO and Russia”.
“And by no means to behave alone, however in shut coordination with our pals and allies,” he mentioned.
Requested in regards to the prospect of halting the battle by negotiations, Scholz mentioned that Putin needed to perceive that the battle couldn’t be ended by making “some type of chilly peace”.
“As an example, by turning the present entrance line into the brand new ‘border’ between Russia and Ukraine,” he mentioned.
“Quite it’s a couple of honest peace, and the prerequisite for that’s the withdrawal of Russian troops,” he added.
Ties between Russia and Germany plunged right into a deep freeze after Moscow despatched its forces into Ukraine in February final 12 months.
The invasion, and Moscow’s transfer to slash gasoline provides to Europe, hit Germany significantly arduous because the nation had come to depend on cheap Russian power to energy its economic system.
The battle has prompted Germany to drop a historically pacifist stance, with Berlin sending a barrage of weaponry to assist Kyiv in its struggle towards Moscow.
(Aside from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is printed from a syndicated feed.)
