ABU DHABI, November 15. /TASS/. The Ukrainian people don’t need the promise to support Kiev as long as necessary, which German Chancellor Olaf Scholz made during a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters.
Commenting on the Russian side's assessment of the conversation, the top diplomat emphasized that there is already a corresponding comment from the Kremlin.
"There is a press release. There is nothing to add," the minister pointed out. "But I have also read the report that the German chancellor's office released on the results of the conversation. It says that he [Scholz] condemned Russian aggression, it says that Germany will be with Ukraine as long as necessary. That's what the Germans and other members of the European Union and NATO say publicly anyway. And when it is said, ‘We will be with Ukraine as long as necessary,’ the question arises, ‘Necessary for whom?’ Certainly not the Ukrainian people. But here I say once again that the Kremlin has clearly expressed its assessments in a detailed statement," Lavrov said.
Earlier today, Scholz called Putin. Previously, the leaders spoke on the phone on December 2, 2022. During the current conversation, according to the Kremlin, they discussed Ukraine, the problem in the Middle East, bilateral relations between Moscow and Berlin. The president and the chancellor agreed that their aides would remain in contact.
According to Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the fact that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz made a phone call to Russian President Vladimir Putin shows the political will to learn Moscow's position firsthand.