Russia (bbabo.net), - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz began the week with a diplomatic tour: on February 14 he visited Kiev, and on February 15 he arrives in Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. On the eve of the Ukrainian authorities increased pressure on Berlin, demanding to supply them with 12,000 anti-tank missiles.
The Politico edition noticed a remarkable detail in the Chancellor's schedule: he did not stay overnight in the Ukrainian capital, but returned to Berlin in the evening. And from there on Tuesday, February 15, "from scratch" flies to Moscow. Scholz's visit to the Russian Federation was not spontaneous, but was prepared in advance: back in early February, the Kremlin confirmed that the Russian leader was planning "substantial bilateral negotiations" with the head of the German Cabinet. On the eve of the trip, Scholz found himself under unprecedented pressure from the leading German media. For several weeks now they have been accusing the chancellor of "indecision", "softness" and even "oyster tactics" in relation to Moscow.
Recall that during a visit to Washington, where Scholz held talks with US President Joe Biden last week, the guest from Berlin delicately avoided the topic of Nord Stream 2. Although journalists at a press conference literally twisted his arms, demanding to announce sanctions against the gas pipeline "in the event of a Russian invasion of Ukraine." In response, Scholz repeated the already familiar formula about "all possible options on the table", but did not promise that Germany would be ready to withdraw from the project.
Also, until recently, Berlin refused to supply arms to Ukraine. As the FAZ newspaper wrote, on February 3, the Ukrainian side sent a "wish list" to the German partners, which included "electronic positioning systems, demining devices, protective suits, digital radio stations, radar stations or night vision devices." And just before Scholz's visit to Kiev, Andriy Melnyk, the Ukrainian ambassador to Berlin, suddenly put forward a new demand for 12,000 anti-tank missiles. According to the publication, just these days the request was under consideration.
Against the backdrop of exaggerating speculation about the "imminent invasion of the Russian Federation," the federal chancellery even had to issue a refutation that Olaf Scholz was flying to Moscow "to prevent a war." "This is not an attempt to prevent a war, but part of a diplomatic effort to resolve the Russian-Ukrainian crisis," a source close to Scholz told Reuters. Berlin also assures that it would like to better understand "Russian concerns" in matters of security. Even German Foreign Minister Annalena Burbock, who also recently visited Moscow, admitted on Sunday's ARD TV show that Berlin sees "no sign that a military invasion is a done deal." There is no doubt that Moscow will discuss not only regional topics, but also economic ties between the two countries. Politico recalls that these ties are "extremely close: Germany is Russia's second largest trading partner after China, and Russian gas accounts for up to 55 percent of German blue fuel imports."
By the way, earlier Olaf Scholz, being Minister of Finance in Merkel's government, already crossed paths with Vladimir Putin - for example, at the G20 summits in Osaka and Buenos Aires. However, politicians have not yet had close bilateral tête-à-tête negotiations.
By the way
Olaf Scholz has an official Twitter account in addition to his personal one. Literally in a day, the Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz page gained more than 80 thousand subscribers. "Hello, Twitter!" ("Hi, Twitter!") - this was the first post of the Federal Chancellor of Germany. By the way, his predecessor Angela Merkel did not bother with a personal page on this social network, although she periodically distributed messages through her press secretary.
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