The first telephone conversation took place between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the new German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, during which the Russian leader congratulated the interlocutor on the start of work and discussed with him the situation around Ukraine, as well as the Russian Federation’s proposals to NATO on security guarantees. This was announced on December 21 by the Kremlin press service.
The Russian leader pointed out that Kiev continues to evade the implementation of Minsk-2.
“At the request of the Federal Chancellor, the problems of resolving the internal Ukrainian conflict were thoroughly considered. Vladimir Putin informed in detail about the state of affairs in this area, noting, in particular, that Kiev still stubbornly avoids fulfilling its obligations under the 2015 Minsk agreements – which, in fact, hinders the possible holding of a new summit in the Normandy format, ” the message says.
Putin and Scholz discussed, among other things, Russian proposals for long-term security guarantees from NATO.
“Vladimir Putin informed about Russian proposals for long-term, legally enshrined security guarantees, excluding any further NATO advance to the east, as well as the deployment of strike weapons systems in countries adjacent to Russia,” the Kremlin said.
The heads of both countries expressed interest in further developing Russian-German ties and maintaining contacts through various channels. It was also noted that, as the first burgomaster of Hamburg, Olaf Scholz had been dealing with twinning relations with St. Petersburg for many years.
Scholz was elected the new chancellor of Germany following a vote in the country’s parliament on December 8. On the same day, Putin congratulated him on assuming office, stressing that relations between Russia and the FRG are traditionally of great importance not only for the peoples of the two countries, but for the whole of Europe.
At the same time, Annalena Berbock, the co-chair of the Soyuz-90 / Greens party, was appointed German Foreign Minister, who has consistently opposed the Nord Stream 2 project.
At the same time, Scholz, commenting on the situation around Ukraine, stated the need to comply with the principle of the inviolability of borders. According to him, “everyone understands that there will be consequences if things are different.” The German Chancellor also stressed that the main thing in the situation with Ukraine is to prevent confrontation.
Later, on December 13, he noted that Germany remains committed to Ukraine’s role as a transit route for gas to Europe. He added that Germany will help Ukraine become “the main source of renewable energy and the necessary production that will be based on it.”
On December 21, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow hopes to establish contact between Putin and Scholz, including with the aim of discussing the situation with the expulsion of Russian and German diplomats.
Source: IZ
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
