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Scholz could travel to Moscow to boost his party’s approval rating — report

Germany is scheduled to hold a parliamentary election on February 23, 2025

BERLIN, December 20. /TASS/. The German party called the Christian Democratic Union learned that the country’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz could travel to Moscow on a peace mission in the coming days to give a shot in the arm to his party’s approval rating, Der Spiegel reported.

According to the report, a CDU member heard the rumor from his old acquaintance, whose company is a member of the Eastern Committee of the German Economy. The move is meant for Scholz to score some points on the campaign trail as a "chancellor of peace" and gain an advantage over the competing alliance of the CDU and the Christian-Social Union. Germany is scheduled to hold a parliamentary election on February 23, 2025. Scholz’s Social Democratic party, or SPD, lags behind the conservative alliance by 13-14 percentage points.

The Eastern Committee of the German Economy told Der Spiegel it was unaware of chancellor’s plans to visit Moscow, while the chancellor’s office denied such plans exist.

Earlier on Friday, Scholz reiterated that he intends to continue to speak directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the future. The chancellor last called the Russian president on November 15, the first time after a lengthy hiatus. The leaders had previously spoken by phone on December 2, 2022. During the latest conversation, according to the Kremlin, they talked about Ukraine, the Middle East and bilateral relations between Russia and Germany. Putin and Scholz agreed that their aides would be in touch.

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Germany Olaf Scholz

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