The war in Ukraine/Chancellor Scholz ultimatum to Putin: Withdraw military forces

The German chancellor did not specify whether this also applied to the Crimean peninsula, which has been occupied by Russia since 2014. Asked about this, he simply repeated the words: "Withdrawal of troops", before adding: "It is not up to us to formulate on behalf of Ukraine the agreements it wants to make". Scholz used the more ambiguous term "troop withdrawal" and not "troop withdrawal", which could be understood as: withdrawal of all the troops.

Scholz also avoided answering the question of whether Russian President Vladimir Putin should be ousted. "I don't believe in these kinds of speculative questions. In the end, there will have to be an agreement between the governments of Moscow and Kiev," the chancellor said. His last phone conversation with the head of the Kremlin has been for some time, he said. "But I intend to speak to Putin again in due course."

The Chancellor meets with the heads of the Baltic States

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz traveled this Friday to Estonia, which, like Latvia and Lithuania, borders Russian territory. A bilateral meeting between Scholz and Prime Minister Kaja Kallas is planned in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. Afterwards, the chancellor plans to attend a meeting of the Baltic States, in which he will also meet with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda and Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins.

Compared to their economic power, the Baltic States are among the biggest supporters of the embattled Ukraine. During the meeting in the Estonian capital Tallinn, it is expected to discuss, in addition to additional aid to Kiev, the military reinforcement of NATO's eastern flank to protect against a Russian threat. The consequences of the war in Ukraine on security policy are expected to be a central theme. Germany participates together with other NATO members in the military defense of the Baltic countries, which feel threatened by Russia. Bundeswehr soldiers are stationed in Lithuania for this purpose./dw