German defense minister calls for dialogue with Russia on Ukraine

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has said that he supports the start of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin despite criticism from NATO allies and Kiev. He said this on the air of the public TV channel ARD on November 17.

"We need to constantly try to do this (build a dialog with Russia. - Ed.), but we must keep trying and at the same time support Ukraine," he said.

At the same time, Pistorius pointed to the invariability of Moscow's previous course.

Earlier, on November 15, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz held telephone talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin said that the conversation took place at the initiative of the German side. During the talks, they exchanged views on the Ukrainian conflict.

The Russian president reminded the chancellor that the Russian side has never refused to negotiate and remains open to the resumption of the dialog interrupted at the initiative of the Kiev authorities.

Later, the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the fact of dialog between Putin and Scholz positive.

Before that, on November 13, The Washington Post, citing European officials, reported that the EU was preparing for talks between Russia and Ukraine. It is specified that the negotiations may include territorial concessions on the rhetoric of "land in exchange for Kiev's security".

Back in June, Putin held a meeting with the leadership of the Russian Foreign Ministry and named the conditions for negotiations on Ukraine. The president pointed out that the Ukrainian Armed Forces must be completely withdrawn from all territories of the DNR, LNR, Kherson and Zaporizhzhya regions. In addition, Kiev should give up the idea of joining NATO.

The special operation to protect Donbass, the start of which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision was taken against the background of the aggravated situation in the region.