According to government sources, the chancellor condemned Russia’s attack on Ukraine and called on Moscow to negotiate with Kiev in order to reach a “just and lasting peace.”
He also emphasized “Germany’s unwavering determination to support Ukraine in its defensive struggle against Russian aggression for as long as necessary.”
Scholz, in particular, condemned Russian airstrikes on civilian infrastructure.
The phone conversation lasted about an hour, both leaders agreed to maintain contact. Russian media reports that, according to the Kremlin, the call was initiated by Germany.
The German government will be keen to avoid any accusations that Berlin is trying to make a deal with Moscow over Ukraine’s head, especially given Eastern Europe’s painful 20th-century memories of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union dividing the region.
In a written statement, the chancellor’s office emphasized that Scholz also spoke with Zelensky before calling Putin. Scholz also planned to speak with Zelensky again after the call was over to discuss the details of the conversation with the Russian president.
In a Kremlin statement to Russian media, Putin reportedly told Scholz that Russian-German relations had suffered “unprecedented degradation in all directions as a result of the ‘unfriendly course'” of the German authorities.
According to the Kremlin, Putin told Scholz that any potential peace deal must be “based on new territorial realities” — in other words, on the territory of Ukraine that Russia has occupied since 2022.
Putin also said that a peace agreement can only happen if the “root causes of the conflict” are eliminated. The Kremlin justifies its invasion of Ukraine by accusing it of NATO “expansion” into Eastern Europe.
According to reports, Putin said in the conversation that “the current crisis was a direct result of NATO’s long-term aggressive policy aimed at creating an anti-Russian bridgehead on the territory of Ukraine.”
In an interview with German television last Sunday, Scholz said he planned to speak with Putin to push for peace talks. He said that he does not act independently, but in consultation with others.
There is speculation that Scholz plans to also speak to Chinese President Xi Jinping, a warm supporter of Russia, about the war in Ukraine at next week’s G20 in Rio de Janeiro.
Scholz last spoke with Putin on the phone on December 2, 2022. The last time they met in person was a week before the full invasion of Ukraine.
