Four hours were scheduled for the talks between Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Chancellor Olaf Scholz. But unlike the talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, which lasted longer than planned last week, the talks between Putin and Scholz ended prematurely. Then both express themselves in a joint press conference.
Putin stressed that Russia is still ready for dialogue with the EU and all Western countries. However, Russia’s interests would have to be given due consideration and the overall structure taken into account. Individual questions should not be ignored. “We don’t want a war in Europe,” Putin said. That is the reason why his country is demanding security guarantees from the West. So far, however, there has been no satisfactory answer to his country’s demands. The Russian President also emphasized the importance of the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline, which will strengthen Europe’s energy security. At the same time, Russia is still ready to route gas through Ukraine after 2024.
Scholz emphasized that “no topic was left out” during the conversation. The Chancellor begins his statement with the cultural exchange between the two countries and talks about how to fight climate change together – a sign that agreement on important issues of war and peace was probably not reached. Relations between Germany and Russia are “good and varied,” said the Chancellor, and bilateral economic ties still have great potential. At the same time, Scholz criticized the fact that “the spaces for civil society are becoming narrower” in Russia and he expressed the expectation that Deutsche Welle, whose broadcasting license had recently been revoked, could continue to operate in Russia.
The chancellor also said he had “explained my assessment of the security situation” to Putin. The announced troop withdrawal is a “good sign,” said Scholz. Shortly before, Moscow had declared that it wanted to start withdrawing the first troops from the south and west of the country. At the same time, there was renewed irritation over a resolution by the Russian parliament on a possible recognition of the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, controlled by pro-Russian separatists, as “people’s republics”.
Before his visit, Scholz had refused to be tested for Corona by the Russian side. Instead, he decided to have the PCR test required for entry into the Kremlin carried out by a doctor from the German embassy. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the rejection of the test would not affect the talks in the Kremlin. As a precautionary measure, the distance between Putin and Scholz is greater than usual. Like French President Macron a few days ago, the Chancellor therefore took a seat at a six-metre-long white table. (02/15/2022)
NATO Secretary General: no significant de-escalation
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg sees reason for cautious optimism. However, there are no significant signs of de-escalation from the Russian side. Russia is still ready to attack Ukraine. The recent troop movements of the Russian army do not mean defusing the situation if they leave behind war equipment. In such a case, the troops could return very quickly and would then be quickly operational. (02/15/2022)
Russia announces withdrawal of some troops
In the midst of the conflict with Ukraine, Russia says it has begun withdrawing troops from the south and west of the country after maneuvers. The first soldiers are expected to return to their permanent bases on Tuesday, Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in Moscow. In addition, the loading of military technology had begun. The Interfax agency reported that soldiers from the Crimean peninsula were also being ordered back to their barracks.
However, according to the Tass news agency, the Russian Navy has announced maneuvers elsewhere, namely in the eastern Mediterranean. A naval maneuver is already underway in the Black Sea south of Ukraine. According to the RIA agency, Russian fighter jets are arriving in Syria for the new maneuver.
Shortly before the meeting between Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the announcement that some troops would be withdrawn could be seen as a sign of relaxation. However, it is unclear whether troops are actually withdrawing from the Ukrainian border and how many soldiers are involved.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba expressed skepticism at a briefing with journalists. Only when you actually see a withdrawal of troops will you believe in a de-escalation. However, Kuleba also said his country’s diplomatic work had “succeeded in holding Russia back from further escalation.” It is unclear whether he was referring to Konashenkov’s announcement.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had previously announced that some exercises were nearing completion. Other maneuvers continued, including in neighboring Belarus. Konashenkov now emphasized that Russia is continuing a “complex of large-scale measures for the operational training of troops and armed forces”.
According to Western intelligence officials, during the maneuvers in Belarus, some of the troops moved closer to the border than expected. There are currently 100 Russian tactical battalion groups (BTG) near the Ukrainian border and 14 more in transit. In total, Russia has 168 fast and highly flexible combat units with 600 to 1000 soldiers.
Western politicians had reacted with extreme concern to the Russian maneuvers. Many fear that the troop movements and a deployment of tens of thousands of soldiers along the Ukrainian border are in preparation for war. Russia rejects this. The Kremlin said the US warning of a Russian attack on Ukraine planned for Wednesday was unfounded hysteria, designed only to stoke tensions in Europe. (02/15/2022)
Scholz in private with Putin
After his brief visit to Kiev, Chancellor Olaf Scholz is continuing his efforts in Moscow to defuse the Ukraine crisis. In the Kremlin this Tuesday, he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time for a long one-to-one talk that is scheduled to last several hours. Formally, this is the Chancellor’s inaugural visit at a time when German-Russian relations are at a low ebb. However, the Ukraine crisis is likely to overshadow all bilateral conflicts between Berlin and Moscow in the conversation.
Scholz had already stated during his visit to Kiev on Monday that he wanted to persuade Putin to de-escalate the crisis. The deployment of tens of thousands of Russian soldiers along the Ukrainian border is “incomprehensible,” said the SPD politician. At the same time, he again warned Russia against an attack on Ukraine and stressed that the EU and the USA had prepared tough reactions in this case.
During the Chancellor’s inaugural visit to Washington, US President Joe Biden declared that this would include the end of the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline. Scholz, on the other hand, does not expressly name the gas pipeline as a sanctions instrument and only says that “all options are on the table”. He has not publicly mentioned the Nord Stream 2 pipeline name since mid-December.
Before the talks with Putin, the Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, called for a tough demeanor. “Only a crisp and clear ultimatum to Mr. Putin with a deadline to order his armed hordes back no later than February 16 can still save world peace,” Melnyk told the newspapers of the Funke media group. “Should the Kremlin boss ignore this very last warning, extremely painful preventive sanctions against Russia would have to be introduced step by step the very next day.” (02/15/2022)
Zelensky proclaims Unity Day
Against the background of US warnings of a possible invasion by Russian troops, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky decreed February 16 as Unity Day, as he said in a video. Ukrainians are scheduled to hoist flags across the country this Wednesday and sing the anthem at 10 a.m. local time (9 a.m. CET). “Let’s show our unity to the whole world,” said the 44-year-old.
The US government recently warned that the US considered a Russian invasion possible before the end of the Winter Olympics in China on February 20 – in other words, in the coming days. According to media reports, February 16 was mentioned in US intelligence information as a possible date for Russian military action. (02/15/2022)