Scholz ready to talk to Putin, but under certain conditions

He said this on Saturday at a meeting with citizens in Nuthetal in Brandenburg state, Ukrinform reports.

"I will talk to him," the politician said, adding that the condition for such a conversation should be Putin's willingness to move towards achieving a result.

"He must withdraw his troops. But at the moment there are no signs of this at all," Scholz said, when asked about the possibility of peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow. He did not specify when his dialogue with Putin might take place.

At the same time, the chancellor noted that the Russian leader should not succeed in his goal of annexing parts of the neighboring state by force. Therefore, partners should not stop putting pressure on him and at the same time continue to support Ukraine.

This is not the first time Scholz has declared his readiness to talk to Putin. A few days ago, in one of his interviews, he declared his readiness to continue the dialogue, but admitted that Moscow was not yet ready for peace talks. Scholz added that the beginning of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia required a "decisive step" by Russia, namely the withdrawal of its troops from Ukraine.

Scholz and Putin last spoke by phone on December 2, 2022. In total, after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, they spoke more than ten times.