Scholz explained how Putin justified his decision before invading Ukraine
Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz (photo: Getty Images)
Before the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin, during a meeting in Moscow, outlined to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz the reasons he had concocted to justify his decision, according to Ukrinform.
Scholz shared details of his four-hour meeting with Putin in the Kremlin in February 2022 during a discussion with citizens as part of the Democracy Festival.
According to Scholz, Putin laid out his imperial views, including the belief that the borders of sovereign countries can be changed by force.
Putin tried to persuade Scholz that Ukraine and Belarus are parts of Russia. Alexander Lukashenko, the chancellor noted, does not oppose this.
Another reason for the full-scale war, Putin cited, was Ukraine's desire to join NATO. Scholz said he told the Russian President, "That's not on the agenda, at least not for another 30 years."
Furthermore, Putin shared his fantasies with the German chancellor about a Nazi regime in Ukraine. "To talk about this when the president is Jewish... One can imagine how absurd, disgraceful an explanation for war this is," Scholz assessed Putin's words.
The chancellor noted that not only Ukrainians but also Russians are dying in the war. He is convinced that this is happening only so that someday, in history textbooks that he (Putin) won't even be able to read, 100 years from now, it will be written that he conquered a couple of kilometers.
Tucker Carlson's reaction to Nazism in Ukraine from Putin
In February 2024, Putin, in an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson, talked about one of the official goals of the war against Ukraine - denazification.
Discussing this interview on a podcast in the US, Carlson called Putin's statements dumb.
"I thought it was one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. I didn't understand what it meant. Denazification," he said.
