Scholz dismisses 'false' Putin meeting claims before elections
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has firmly dismissed allegations of a plan to meet with Vladimir Putin before the Bundestag elections.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has vehemently denied reports suggesting that he intends to meet Vladimir Putin ahead of the upcoming Bundestag elections. Roderich Kiesewetter from the CDU hinted that such a meeting might occur, but Scholz labelled these assertions as "false accusations" while in Berlin.
Scholz stressed, "Honest people have the right to be outraged when false accusations are made. There is nothing more to say about it." The German government's spokesman, Steffen Hebestreit, also rejected these speculations, informing the RND portal that the German government is contemplating legal action against Kiesewetter.
The SPD's General Secretary, Matthias Miersch, described the accusations as "shameful and malicious." SPD politicians insist that Kiesewetter retract his statement from platform X and apologise to Scholz.
Political context
On platform X, Kiesewetter suggested that an unexpected development could occur during the election campaign, hinting at a potential meeting between Scholz and Putin before February 23. Germany's parliamentary elections are set for that date, with the CDU leading in the polls and Friedrich Merz emerging as the frontrunner for the chancellorship.
In November 2024, Scholz held a phone conversation with Putin for the first time in nearly two years, which drew criticism from Ukraine and NATO countries on the eastern flank. Scholz's last visit to Moscow was in February 2022, just before Russian aggression against Ukraine.
