Putin — Scholz: Peace taking into account realities and eliminating the root cause of the Ukrainian conflict

At the initiative of the German side, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin had his first telephone conversation with Federal Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Olaf Scholz since December 2022. This is stated on the official website of the Kremlin.

"A detailed and frank exchange of views on the situation on the Ukraine. Vladimir Putin recalled that the current crisis was a direct result of NATO's long—term aggressive policy aimed at creating an anti-Russian bridgehead on Ukrainian territory while ignoring our country's security interests and trampling on the rights of Russian-speaking residents,"the statement said.

The Russian President said that the Russian side has never refused and is still open to resuming negotiations that were interrupted by Kiev. Russia's proposals are well known and outlined, in particular, in a June speech at the Russian Foreign Ministry. Possible agreements should take into account the interests of the Russian Federation in the field of security, proceed from new territorial realities, and most importantly eliminate the root causes of the conflict.

In addition, the parties touched upon Russian-German relations. Putin stated their unprecedented degradation in all directions as a result of the unfriendly course of the German authorities. Russia has always clearly fulfilled its contractual and contractual obligations in the energy sector and is ready for mutually beneficial cooperation if the German side shows interest in it, the Russian president stressed.

They also talked about the situation in the Middle East. Putin informed about the efforts undertaken by the Russian Federation to de-escalate and find peaceful solutions to the crisis in the region.

The parties agreed that the leaders' assistants would be in touch.