BERLIN (dpa-AFX) – Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has warned Russia against freezing the war against Ukraine over the territory it has conquered so far. “Russia must understand that this is not about making some kind of cold peace
– by, for example, the now existing frontline for the new “frontier”
between Russia and Ukraine. This would only legitimize Putin’s theft,” he told the “Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger” (Friday). “It’s more about a just peace, and the prerequisite for that is the withdrawal of Russian troops.”
The chancellor left open the question of whether this also applies to the Crimean Peninsula, occupied by Russia since 2014. When asked whether his condition also applies to Crimea, he only reiterated his statement: “The withdrawal of troops. It is up to us to formulate instead of Ukraine which agreements it wants to reach.” Scholz used the more vague phrase “troop withdrawal” not “troop withdrawal”, which could mean: all troops.
Scholz also avoided the question of whether Russian President Vladimir Putin should be overthrown. “I don’t believe in these speculative questions. Ultimately, there will have to be an agreement between the Moscow and Kiev governments,” the chancellor said. It has been some time since her last phone call with the head of the Kremlin. “But I intend to speak with Putin again in due course.”/and/DP/stk