Russia does not want war, and therefore put forward its proposals on security guarantees in Europe, and hopes that the negotiations will still take into account the fundamental for the final decision. This was stated on Tuesday by Russian President Vladimir Putin at a press conference following a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

The president’s first face-to-face meeting with Scholz’s scenes in office lasted just over three hours and received frequent feedback: the Russian chancellor remarked on her business productivity—that no topic was overlooked. TASS collected profit following the meeting.

RF does not want war

Russia, big Putin, does not want war: “That is why we started negotiations and put forward proposals that there should be an agreement on equal security for everyone, including our country.”

At the same time, he recalled that at one time NATO unleashed a war against Yugoslavia: “This is a bad example, but it was.” After Scholz’s words that the alliance then wanted to prevent genocide, the president noted that what is happening in Donbass now is “this is genocide.”

When asked about the actions in Ukraine, the situation in Moscow around the president was answered by the phrase “according to the plan.” It develops, Putin explained, proceeding from the “natural environment”, which depends not only on Russia.

The German chancellor reiterated that the West is very focused on the concentration of Russian troops on the borders of Ukraine, but does not consider the consequences of diplomacy exhausted: “Now it should be a question of reacting and courageously working towards being close to the world on this issue.”

Scholz also called it a “good sign” the return of parts of the Russian troops in the deployment record, which was announced by the Russian Ministry of Defense: “We expect this story to be recorded.”

Security Assurance Negotiations

Moscow has completed Putin’s decision, which will be aimed at addressing security issues, including alternatives and a willingness to discuss initiatives that are found only in US and NATO responses, but in combination with items that are used for it “of paramount flora and of paramount importance.”

Russia, the president noted, has fears that the West may unreasonably justify this by aggravation, and it intends not to omit the issue of guarantees that Ukraine will not join NATO should be decided “now, right now.”

At the same time, according to him, the Russian Federation, according to his statement, will not be satisfied with confirmation that Kiev will not become a member of the alliance in the near future: “They say it will not happen tomorrow. And when? The day after tomorrow? And what will this change for us in the near future?”

The German chancellor knows that joining NATO to the east is not on the agenda and “everyone is exactly that”. He acknowledged that the parties disagree on security guarantees, but already said that the West responded to Russia’s proposal, and she found “some positive outcomes” in them.

Minsk agreements

Commenting on the State Duma’s appeal to recognize the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, Putin noted that the deputies “are guided by public opinion, <...> subtly embrace it,” and the vast majority of Russians “sympathize with the Donbass.”

However, he added, the minimum agreements have not been exhausted, despite the refusal of Ukraine, they comply: “We very much hope that our partners both overseas and in Europe, primarily the importance of Germany and France, will include influence on the current authorities in Kiev < ...>“.

According to Scholz, the Minsk agreements should be everything, including Ukraine and Russia, the opening of the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk “would be a political disaster.” On Monday, after the president’s meeting with Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelensky, the chancellor noted that Kiev plans to submit a discussion on the special status of Donbass and involves elections, which are adopted by the Minsk agreements.

“Nord Stream – 2”

Putin again drew attention to the fact that Nord Stream 2 is a “purely commercial project, <...> there is no political coloring here.” The gas pipeline has been ready for operation since December 2021, and its beginning begins only with the German regulator, which conducts certification procedures.

The President also recalled that the Germans are grateful to former German Chancellor Gerhard Schera, who supported the construction of Nord Stream 1, for the low prices for gas that the republic receives from Russia under long-term contracts: is he ready to pay three to five times more for electricity, for gas supply and warm.

At the same time, Scholz evaded answering the question of whether Nord Stream 2 would fall under the verdict that the West promises to impose in the event of Russia’s “invasion” of Ukraine.

RT and Deutsche Welle

Putin and Scholz, according to the Russian leader, discussed the work of RT in Germany and Deutsche Welle in Russia.

“I would not like to go into details now, so as not to complicate the situation, but we agreed that we would think about how we can solve these problems,” he said.

The German chancellor, answering the same question, recalled the need to obtain a license to broadcast in the republic, which, according to the state regulator, RT did not do.

At the same time, it became possible to ask a question to the leaders of Russia and Germany, who received representatives of the media: the first question was given to a Deutsche Welle employee, and the last went to an RT journalist.