Berlin (dpa) – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is planning to travel to Moscow “shortly” for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He announced this in a television interview with the broadcaster ZDF, without giving an exact date. Scholz reaffirmed his government’s course in the Ukraine crisis. The chancellor again threatened Russia with sanctions in the event of an invasion of Ukraine, saying that this would come at a “very high price”.
At the same time, the chancellor emphasised his willingness to talk. Everything must be done “to find a way to make peaceful development in Europe possible through talks”. Many people are scared of a war in the middle of Europe, Scholz said. “It is our joint responsibility to use this dual strategy to ensure that it does not come to that.”
Scholz will already be travelling to the USA on Sunday for a meeting with US President Joe Biden there on Monday. The Ukraine crisis is also likely to be a central topic during the meeting in Washington.
The chancellor does not intend to travel to the Olympic Games in Beijing, on the other hand. “I have no plans to travel there, so you can’t assume that I’ll suddenly show up there and say: Hello, here I am,” Scholz said in the television interview. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock had already announced earlier that she would not travel to Beijing. The Olympic Games will open on Friday.
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