Scholz denies Putin meeting claims before key German election
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz firmly rejected accusations of a planned meeting with Vladimir Putin before the Bundestag elections.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has vehemently denied reports that he plans to meet with Vladimir Putin ahead of the upcoming Bundestag elections. Roderich Kiesewetter from the CDU suggested such a meeting might take place, but Scholz described these claims as "false accusations" in Berlin.
Scholz emphasized that "honest people have the right to be outraged when false accusations are made. There is nothing more to say about it." The German government’s spokesman, Steffen Hebestreit, also dismissed these speculations, informing the RND portal that the German government is considering legal action against Kiesewetter.
SPD General Secretary Matthias Miersch described the accusations as "shameful and malicious." SPD politicians are demanding that Kiesewetter retract his statement from Platform X and apologize to Scholz.
Political context
Kiesewetter suggested on platform X that there might be an unexpected development during the election campaign, hinting at a possible meeting between Scholz and Putin before February 23. The parliamentary elections in Germany are set for that date, with the CDU currently leading in the polls and Friedrich Merz emerging as the frontrunner for the chancellorship.
In November 2024, Scholz spoke with Putin for the first time in nearly two years, which was criticized by Ukraine and the eastern flank NATO countries. Scholz's last visit to Moscow was in February 2022, just before Russia's aggression on Ukraine.
