BERLIN, September 13. /TASS/. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday held 90-minute telephone talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the situation in Ukraine and food security problems, the German government said.
"In view of the serious military situation, the chancellor insisted on making the soonest diplomatic decision based on a ceasefire, complete withdrawal of Russian troops, and respect to Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty," it said.
Scholz also stressed that Moscow’s "any further annexation steps" will not remain unanswered "and will not be recognized." Apart from that, he called on the Russian side to ensure proper conditions "for imprisoned combatants" in conformity with generally recognized humanitarian law and ensure "unimpeded access for the International Committee of the Red Cross."
"Touching on the situation at the Zaporozhye NPP, the chancellor stressed the necessity to ensure its security. In this context, he called for refraining from any steps to escalate the situation and implementing the measures recommended in the IAEA report," the German side said.
Scholz also "stressed the important role of the grain deal reached under the United Nations auspices and called on the Russian president not to discredit the agreement and implement it in full," the German government said.
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation in response to a request for help by the heads of the Donbass republics. He stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories, but aimed to demilitarize and denazify the country. After that, the United States, the European Union and their allies imposed large-scale sanctions on Russia and invigorated arms supplies to Kiev.