German Chancellor Scholz plans dialogue with Putin, first since late 2022

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced plans to resume dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin “soon,” speaking on the ARD program “Caren Miosga,” Tagesspiegel reports.

This comes amid news from The Washington Post that US President-elect Donald Trump held a telephone conversation with Putin on 7 November, citing informed sources. During the call, Trump allegedly cautioned against escalating the war in Ukraine and referenced the US military presence in Europe. The Ukrainian government was reportedly informed about this communication.

However, the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed the report, stating no conversation occurred, and added there were no plans for Trump-Putin contact.

“Yes, I plan to speak with the Russian President at the right time. But I am a responsible politician, I don’t do this alone,” Scholz stated, as per Tagesspiegel. 

German Chancellor emphasized a multilateral approach to any future dialogue with Moscow. 

“Soon,” he responded when questioned about timing, while stressing the necessity of extensive preliminary consultations, particularly with Ukraine.

Scholz’s last direct contact with Putin occurred in December 2022, when he advocated for diplomatic resolution and Russian military withdrawal. Although he remained open to future discussions as of June, Scholz maintained that such talks must have substantive purpose. 

In October, media reports claimed that Scholz planned to call Putin in November, potentially making him the first Western leader to speak with Putin since 2022. 

The Kremlin, however, denied receiving any request for a phone conversation between Putin and Scholz. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that there were no recent plans for a conversation, citing strained relations between Russia and Germany due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

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