Scholz reaffirms readiness to negotiate with Putin

Berlin is ready to negotiate peace in Ukraine with Moscow, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has expressed readiness to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin to bring the Ukraine conflict to an end. He made the remarks on Wednesday in a speech to the German Parliament. Scholz reiterated the call for another “peace summit” on Ukraine, and stated that Russia should be invited.

“Therefore, it is also true that when we are asked whether we will also talk to the Russian president, we answer – yes, we will,” he said.

The potential negotiations with Moscow, however, would not happen “over the heads of Ukraine and never without deliberation with our closest partners,” Scholz clarified.

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Earlier this month, Moscow dismissed German media reports that Scholz wanted to speak with Putin by phone ahead of the November G20 meeting in Brazil. At the time, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the two leaders had “no common issues” to discuss, and described ties between Moscow and Berlin as being “reduced to virtually zero.”

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