Referring to contacts in the Eastern Committee of the German Economy, which has long-standing ties to the Kremlin, a source said that the chancellor will visit Moscow soon.
Several senior committee members reportedly answered affirmatively when asked about Scholz's peace mission, according to the report. A representative of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) political party acknowledged that a successful peacemaking effort by Scholz could impact the outcome of the upcoming federal elections in Germany.
At a press conference later the same day, the chancellor confirmed he plans to speak to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in the future.
“I have spoken with the Russian president and will speak with him again,” said Scholz, without explicitly confirming plans to travel to the Russian capital.
He the clarified that the purpose of discussions with Putin is to convey that ending the war requires stopping aggression and withdrawing troops from Ukraine.
Scholz called Putin in mid-November on his own initiative—the first such call since December 2022. This drew criticism from neighboring EU countries. Scholz described the conversation as "unpleasant," stating that Putin reiterated his usual grievances as reasons for waging war against Ukraine.
Scholz also affirmed Germany's commitment to supporting Ukraine “for as long as necessary.” Before the conversation, the chancellor spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.