Scholz calls for dialogue with Putin amid ongoing conflict
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) advocated in the Bundestag for diplomatic talks involving Russia to end the war in Ukraine.
In a speech to the Bundestag on Wednesday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed openness to direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding a "just peace" in Ukraine.
Scholz ready for talks with the dictator
- When asked whether we would also talk with the Russian president, we answer: Yes, we will - he said. However, he stressed: There should never be any decisions made over Ukraine's head.
The Chancellor recalled that President Volodymyr Zelensky also declared that a peace conference should take place, including the participation of the Russian president.
The time has come, "when – in addition to clear support for Ukraine – we must also do everything in our power to explain how we can ensure this war does not last forever," said the head of the German government. Talks with Putin would have to be conducted "in coordination with our closest partners."
Scholz on Putin's "imperialist madness"
It is unacceptable that "so many men and women continue to die in Ukraine, victims of Russian bombs and missiles," Scholz said.
- Countless Russian soldiers are also victims of the Russian president's imperialist madness every day - he added. - They too are victims of his policy aimed at expanding his country – something that cannot be repeated in Europe in this way - he admitted.
Scholz promised Ukraine further support from Germany and its Western allies. Allies of Ukraine must "send a clear message on which Ukraine can rely, and a clear message that the Russian president cannot ignore."
The occasion for the government's statement by the Chancellor was the EU summit starting on Thursday in Brussels, where the situation in Ukraine will also be discussed.
Opposition for supplying Taurus to Ukraine
The head of the opposition Christian Democrats, Friedrich Merz, demanded a tougher course from the government regarding Ukraine. If Putin continues his attacks, he believes that a joint decision should be made in Europe to lift restrictions related to the range of Western weapons supplied to Ukraine, as Kyiv has repeatedly requested.
Merz stated that if Putin does not yield, conditions must be set for him: If he does not stop bombing civilians in Ukraine within 24 hours, Germany will supply Taurus cruise missiles.
This could destroy the supply routes Moscow uses to bomb civilians in Ukraine.
So far, Scholz has been strongly opposed to the delivery of these particularly powerful long-range cruise missiles.
