German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke by telephone with Vladimir Putin on Friday, November 15. This is the first direct contact between a European leader and the Russian president in almost two years and Moscow’s offensive on Ukraine. In Germany, the chancellor’s initiative is appreciated very differently, the conservative opposition having criticized it harshly, just like kyiv.
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Olaf Scholz did not present new positions and did not issue an ultimatum to [Vladimir] Poutine to negotiate. THE Russian president will therefore interpret this telephone call as a sign of weakness which allows him to escape a little from his isolation », criticizes Christian Democratic Union (CDU) MP Jürgen Hardt, reports our correspondent in Berlin, Nathalie Versieux.
The one who is also spokesperson for his parliamentary group for foreign affairs criticized the Chancellor for having contributed to a “ propaganda success » from the Kremlin, for reasons of German domestic politics.
Olaf Scholz acted for domestic political reasons », Adds his colleague Johan Wadephul, for whom the telephone call between the two leaders was only a publicity stunt on the part of the chancellor. “ There can be peace for Ukraine only with vigorous military support », Adds this hawk within the CDU.
This position of the conservatives suggests a possible change in Germany’s support for Ukraine, in the event of a victory for the Christian Democrats in the early elections which will be held in three months. While the conservatives are the favorites for this election, their leader Friedrich Merz has repeatedly spoken out in favor of the delivery of long-range missiles to Ukraine.
The general secretary of the SPD defended the telephone call from the chancellor, from the center-left party. Matthias Miersch said it was important to make diplomatic progress in the Ukrainian conflict.
L’Germany is Ukraine’s second largest arms supplier after the United States, but it has refrained from sendingUkraine long-range weapons, in order to avoid a further escalation of the conflict.
After the collapse of the government coalition last week, Mr. Scholz must stand again in elections next February. According to the latest polls, his social democratic party, the SPD, is given 15% of the vote, far behind the conservatives of the CDU/CSU (32%).
For kyiv, Olaf Scholz opened a “ Pandora’s box »
In Ukraine, President Voldymyr Zelensky, who had been informed beforehand, expressed his irritation. kyiv who saw “ an attempt at appeasement » towards Moscow. The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized Olaf Scholz for having opened the “ Pandora’s box “.
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