Media said Scholz may visit Moscow on a "peace mission"

There are rumors in the opposition German Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz may soon visit Moscow on a "peace mission." German magazine Der Spiegel reported this on Friday, December 20.

"The chancellor will travel to Moscow with a "peace mission" in the coming days," a CDU member said during the vote of no confidence in Scholz, citing an acquaintance in the Eastern Committee.

The publication notes that the CDU fears that with such a move Scholz could outmaneuver his rival, candidate for Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Scholz seeks to use the possible resolution of the Ukrainian conflict in his political interests.

It is specified that the chancellor's office denied this information, calling it rumors.

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Earlier, on December 12, the Die Zeit newspaper reported about Scholz's plans to hold another phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Prior to that, on December 4, Scholz said during a speech in the Bundestag that it would be absurd and a sign of weakness for Germany and the European Union not to hold talks with the Russian president. At the same time, Scholz pointed out that his position on the conflict in Ukraine is very different from that of the Russian leader.

In mid-November, Putin and Scholz had their first telephone conversation in two years. The conversation took place at the initiative of the German side. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the fact of such a dialog positive. The Russian leader said on 28 November that the talks were mainly devoted to Ukraine.