Scholz justifies talks with Putin: European leadership must engage, not stay silent

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has named the reason why he decided to talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"In my opinion, it would not be a good idea if, in the near future, there were negotiations between the American president [Donald Trump] and the Russian president, while the head of government of an important European country did not also engage in such negotiations," said Scholz to journalists in Rio de Janeiro, where he arrived to attend the G20 summit, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.

According to him, there are those in Germany who think the absence of talks with Putin is a good idea, but he is not among them.

Scholz also called on Putin to end the conflict and withdraw troops from Ukrainian territory, but did not feel any change in Putin's position on this conflict. 

He noted that the conversation was detailed and brought home the understanding that "little has changed" in the Russian president's views. That's not good news, Scholz said.

"I'll be talking to the Russian president again soon," the chancellor added.

On November 15, Scholz and Putin called for the first time in almost two years, initiated by Berlin. The conversation took place even though the “special military operation” is still ongoing, and Vladimir Zelensky asked to drop the call and ‘not to reduce the isolation’ of the Russian president.

He called the politicians' talks a “Pandora's box” and warned that Kyiv needed “real peace”. The Kremlin said the leaders had a ‘detailed and frank exchange of views on the situation in Ukraine’ and agreed to ‘stay in touch’. The German cabinet assured that Scholz urged Moscow to "withdraw troops" and show readiness for negotiations.

By Khagan Isayev