German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his Social Democratic Party ( SPD ) on Sunday condemned a statement from an opposition CDU member claiming the chancellor planned to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Roderich Kiesewetter, a CDU international affairs and surveillance professional, had posted the day before on X, previously Online, saying the reported meeting was scheduled to take place before European elections set for February.
Kiesewetter had apparently stated in the article that” we must make for an election battle surprise,” but it now appears to have been deleted. Scholz’s suggestion for the gathering was suggested by him to go to Moscow.
How did the SPD react?
Scholz and his party both condemned the article and Kiesewetter. Steffen Hebestreit, a spokeswoman for the government, refrained from making plans for for a vacation.
” It would make no sense at all”, the government spokesman told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland ( RND ) media group, calling the comment” slander”.
Hebestreit said that “legal steps” may be taken against the CDU lawmaker.
Scholz also strongly criticized Kiesewetter’s article, describing it in a press event as a “false incident” and calling it “deeply inappropriate”.
The state was “vicious and sneaky,” according to SPD General Secretary Matthias Miersch. Rolf Mützenich, the head of the SPD political group, called it “pure fabrication.” Both demanded that Kiesewetter, who is also a part of the Bundestag, retract his speech and regret to Scholz.
Mützenich called on the CDU group chief and candidate for governor, Friedrich Merz, to act.
According to Mützenich, key members of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group are clearly trying to build arguments against Olaf Scholz’s logical foreign policy course with such pure fabrications, referring to the conservative bloc of the CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union ( CSU).
Scholz stresses Ukraine help, despite earlier Trump visit
Earlier in November, Scholz spoke on the telephone with Putin, for the first time in nearly two years. The request received criticism from Kyiv as well as some Eastern Western Nato lovers.
Scholz said to reporters on Sunday at a SPD presidium conference that “any chance it might result in a second phone call with Putin.”
The president yet stressed that Germany remains Ukraine’s “biggest follower” in the fight against Russia’s anger.
” We must stop this battle from turning into a conflict between Russia and Nato,” Scholz added.
