On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Schulz in Moscow, which will be their first since the latter became prime minister in his country.
“It is scheduled to discuss urgent issues on the bilateral and international agenda, including those related to (Washington and NATO) providing Russia with sustainable and legally binding security guarantees, and the settlement of the Ukraine conflict,” the Kremlin press service said.
The Kremlin spokesman did not rule out discussing what surrounds the “North Stream 2” pipeline to pump Russian gas to Germany through the Baltic.
For his part, a German government source told reporters that Schulz seeks to “better understand the goals and Russian concerns,” and that he does not expect any specific results during the meeting, but attaches great importance to negotiations with the Russian president.
The source added: “It is important for us that there be specific steps to stop the escalation,” noting that Berlin highly values the conduct of negotiations with Moscow at various levels, and that “direct dialogue will be important.”
He pointed out that Schulz’s visits to Kiev and Moscow are “part of the diplomacy to settle the crisis, coordinated with partners,” adding that there is unanimity in the European Union and NATO on steps in the event of a “Russian attack on Ukraine.”
It should be noted that Schultz visited Washington on February 7, where he met with US President Joe Biden, and then held a number of meetings with the presidents of France, Poland, the European Council and the Baltic states. On Monday, he held talks with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky in Kiev.
It is noteworthy that Moscow rejects Western accusations of preparing an “attack” on Ukraine, and denies having any such plans.
Source: Russia’s Tass Agency
