'Extremely indecent' - Scholz criticizes opposition claims of his visit to Putin
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (photo: Getty Images)
Chancellor Olaf Scholz sharply rejected accusations by opposition CDU politician Roderich Kiesewetter that he might visit Moscow. Spiegel informs that the government is preparing a lawsuit for slander.
The Federal Chancellor called Kiesewetter's allegations about his alleged intention to meet with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin false.
“This is a false statement... You can't do that. It is deeply indecent,” Scholz said.
The chancellor emphasized that there is no basis for such assumptions. He added that such statements outrage honest people.
“No one can say that someone thought about it,” he said.
Reaction in Scholz's environment
SPD Secretary General Matthias Miersch called Kiesewetter's words “shameful and treacherous” and called him to apologize.
The leader of the SPD parliamentary faction, Rolf Mützenich, called the accusations fabricated, and government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit announced that a lawsuit was being prepared.
“What Mr. Kiesewetter is doing is slander,” Hebestreit said.
He emphasized that the government has no plans for such negotiations, and such statements are damaging.
Opposition statements on Scholz's visit to Putin
The day before, Kiesewetter, who is the security spokesperson for Germany's main opposition party, the CDU, said that there were signs that Scholz was preparing to meet with Putin before the February 23 parliamentary elections.
“There are more and more signs that Chancellor Scholz will travel to Moscow or meet with Putin before February 23. For Ukraine, the implementation of these plans means, among other things, suspension of the Paris Agreement for 10-20 years. It will be indicative of how the Ukrainian population or our neighbors will react to all this,” Kiesewetter wrote on his social media page.
Negotiations between Scholz and Putin
In November 2024, Scholz had a telephone conversation with Putin. These were the first such talks in two years. The chancellor later said that Putin had not changed his mind about the war in Ukraine.
In particular, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reacted to the talks between Scholz and Putin. It said that a dialogue with the Kremlin leader would not help achieve a just end to the full-scale war.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in turn, noted that Scholz's call to Putin was a Pandora's Box.
On January 2, the leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), Saskia Esken, called for the continuation of the chancellor's talks with Putin. Read more about her statement in the RBC-Ukraine article.
