Scholz promises talks with Putin to end the Ukraine war – risk of escalation “great”
Created: 12/17/2022, 9:37 am
By: Felix Durach
Chancellor Olaf Scholz continues to push for a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine war and promises talks with Putin.
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Scholz
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: The Chancellor is pushing for a diplomatic solution to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
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Berlin — Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has promised further talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on ending the Ukraine war.
The German head of government explained this to the
Süddeutsche Zeitung
.
"Our goal is for Russia to end its war of aggression and for Ukraine to defend its integrity," said Scholz.
For this it would be "necessary to speak," the Chancellor continued.
"Whether that's done by phone, video link or at a long table remains to be seen."
Scholz holds out the prospect of talks with Putin – the Kremlin boss must “understand that things cannot go on like this”
The Chancellor assessed the risk of a further escalation in the Ukraine war by Russia as "great".
This is mainly due to the military failures of the Russian army in recent months.
The Russian armed forces were hardly able to carry out any offensive actions during this period and are currently focusing on attacks on the Ukrainian energy supply.
The non-fighting retreat from the strategically important port city of Cherson represented the interim climax of this development.
Russia must "recognize that things cannot go on like this," said Scholz.
Putin must "end the war, withdraw troops and thus create the opportunity for mutual understanding".
The appeal could only be: "Putin, end this war."
Ukraine war: Scholz is pushing for a diplomatic solution
At the beginning of December, Scholz had called his Russian counterpart for the first time since mid-September.
Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit subsequently explained that the Chancellor had pushed for a diplomatic solution during the hour-long conversation.
(fd with dpa)
