Scholz urged not to play Russian roulette through Russian ultimatums

It is not worth playing Russian roulette with Germany's security through Russia's ultimatums. This statement was made by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on November 30.

He recalled that the head of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Friedrich Merz wants to give Russia an ultimatum. According to him, if Russian President Vladimir Putin does not heed him, German cruise missiles will be fired deep into Russian territories.

"It is not worth playing Russian roulette with Germany's security," Scholz told a campaign rally of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).

The SPD leadership unanimously nominated Scholz as a candidate in the country's upcoming early elections to the Bundestag on November 25.

Negotiating regression: Germany rules out resumption of high-level contacts with Russia

Are new discussions on the Ukrainian crisis between Vladimir Putin and Olaf Scholz possible?

On November 12, Friedrich Merz said that if elected, he might issue an ultimatum to Russia and lift restrictions on the use of cruise missiles transferred to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).

Prior to that, on October 25, the German chancellor indicated that he opposed the transfer of long-range Taurus missiles to the AFU because of the risk of escalation. He noted that he was skeptical of discussions about the Ukrainian army attacking facilities on Russian territory with American or European weapons. Later, German deputy government spokesman Wolfgang Büchner said that Germany would not change its decision to supply long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine after the US approved strikes deep into Russia. He added that Scholz had made his final decision on the issue and would not change his position again.

The special operation to defend Donbass, the start of which Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on February 24, 2022, is ongoing. The decision was taken against the backdrop of the worsening situation in the region.