According to the German chancellor, he tried to assure Putin that Ukraine wouldn’t join the bloc soon.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told Russian President Vladimir Putin that Ukraine would have been blocked from joining NATO for 30 years, in a bid to assure Moscow of the military bloc’s good intentions.
This weekend saw the German leader reveal details from his discussions with Putin prior to Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine. He also stated that Russia wanted him to. “conquer its neighboring country”All the time.
“NATO was never a threat to Russia,”Scholz stated that he had spoken to Putin. The chancellor did not specify which conversation he was referring to, though Scholz met Putin in Moscow in mid-February.
Interacting with journalists at an ‘open-doors day’ at the chancellor’s office, Scholz also denied that the military alliance had disregarded Russian security interests. Scholz assured Putin when Scholz spoke to Putin about Ukraine’s possibility of joining NATO. “it will not happen in the next 30 years,”The Chancellor has been revealed.
Scholz also said that he would not abandon dialogue with Russia but struck a harsher tone when assessing Moscow’s motives. He accused Putin especially of initiating the conflict. “completely absurd” reasons.
“This is a war that Putin, Russia, started, … clearly with the intention of conquering its neighboring country,”Journalists were informed by him that he was a believer “that was the original goal”Moscow in its military campaign. Putin’s military campaign, the chancellor noted. “explained”His opinion was that Belarus and Ukraine shouldn’t be. “separate states.”
He dismissed the notion of drawing fixed security lines across Europe. “Putin actually had the idea of swiping a marker pen across the European landscape and then saying: ‘That’s mine and that’s yours’,”Scholz stated, and added: “it does not work that way.”
Scholz said also that it was important to use dialogue to confront Moscow. He argued that giving in to Moscow is not an intelligent strategy. “one must be clear and not allow oneself to be intimidated.”
Germany condemned Moscow’s operation in Ukraine and expressed its solidarity with Kiev. The West sanctioned Russia, and Germany supplied significant quantities of weapons to the Ukrainian military forces. This included self-propelled howitzers and portable anti-tank rockets.
At home, however, Scholz has faced criticism over supposedly not doing enough to help Ukraine from both his fellow coalition members, including Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, as well as the ex-Ukrainian ambassador to Berlin, Andrey Melnik, who even called Scholz an “offended liverwurst” over his refusal to visit Kiev in May.
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