Scholz ready to resume contact with Putin "when the time comes", Japan adopting new sanctions against Russia, new night bombings on Kiev... Le Figaro takes stock of the situation of the war in Ukraine this Friday, May 26.
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Olaf Scholz ready to get back in touch with Putin
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Friday he was ready to resume contact "when the time comes" about Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom he has not spoken since December. "My last phone interview was a while ago. But I intend to talk to Putin again when the time comes," Scholz said in an interview published by the Koelner Stadt-Anzeiger daily.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, in Berlin, May 25, 2023. JOHN MACDOUGALL
Regarding the resolution of the conflict, "Russia must understand that it cannot be a question of sealing a kind of cold peace, which would see the current front line become the new border between Russia and Ukraine, it would only legitimize Putin's criminal expedition," Scholz insisted. "On the contrary, a fair peace must be achieved and the condition for doing so is a withdrawal of Russian troops" from Ukraine, after the invasion began in February 2022, he added.
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However, he explicitly refused to say whether the withdrawal should also include Crimea, which has been occupied since 2014. The German Chancellor considered that it was up to Ukraine to define precisely what it wants.
Japan adopts new sanctions against Russia
Tokyo said Friday it had imposed additional sanctions on Russia, in line with the commitment of the G7 countries at their summit in Hiroshima (western Japan) late last week.
Meeting of the G7, partner countries and Ukraine as part of the G7 leaders' summit in Hiroshima, western Japan, May 21, 2023, HANDOUT/REUTERS
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Japan will impose new sanctions including freezing the assets of 17 Russian nationals and 78 organizations, as well as banning the export of goods and services to 80 Russian entities, government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno said. The export bans cover products destined for Russian companies linked to the country's military-industrial complex, as well as construction and engineering services.
New night bombing of Kiev
Russian forces shelled Kiev again on the night of Thursday to Friday, the city's civil and military administration said, according to which all missiles were intercepted and destroyed. "Another air attack on Kiev, the 13th in a row since early May! And as always, at night," the administration said on its Telegram account. According to her, cruise missiles were launched by Tu-95MS strategic bombers from the Caspian Sea region. "According to preliminary information, all enemy targets in Kiev's airspace have been detected and destroyed," she added.
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In its daily morning briefing, the Ukrainian General Staff reported 55 Russian air attacks over the past day, including 36 by explosive drones, and four missile attacks. "An S-300 missile hit a dam in the Karlivka area of the Donetsk region," the general staff said. "As a result, there is a great danger of flooding surrounding communities," he added, adding that he had intercepted all the projectiles launched during the air raids.
