New German chancellor to negotiate with Russia

New German chancellor to negotiate with Russia

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Olaf Schultz has gone to Paris and Brussels on his first foreign trip as Chancellor. In addition to French President Emmanuel Macron, he has held meetings with European Union leaders.

Schultz took over as chancellor at a time when tensions are mounting over Moscow’s military presence on the Ukrainian border. A U.S. intelligence report said last week that Russian forces could launch an attack on Ukraine early next year. US President Joe Biden has warned Russian President Vladimir Putin. In such a situation, this issue naturally came to the fore in the Schultz-Macron meeting in Paris. Shaltz said the European Union would not sit still if Russia really invaded Ukraine.

“If there is a border violation, it is clear that Germany, the European Union and many other countries will respond,” he said.

Earlier, however, Schultz favored peace talks with Russia. Referring to the talks between Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine in Normandy, he said: “We have a good foundation for talks. It needs to be revived. The Normandy talks are an example.

At a joint news conference, the French president also spoke in favor of avoiding unnecessary tensions over the Russia issue.

Schultz stressed that in any case, Germany and France should be on equal footing in economic, security and foreign policy. After a meeting with Macron, he arrived in Brussels. There he emphasized the need for unity in Europe. He met with EU President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel. Apart from Russia, important issues discussed during their talks included the Iran nuclear deal, disagreements over the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and relations with China. Schultz stressed the need for a single EU strategy on these issues. Source: DW

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