Germany’s Scholz says he urged Putin to withdraw troops from Ukraine during G-20 call

By Anadolu staff

BERLIN (AA) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to withdraw troops from Ukraine during a virtual G-20 summit on Wednesday.

Speaking at joint news conference with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Berlin, Scholz said Russian President Putin attended a G20 leaders' summit for the first time since the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022.

“I called on President Putin to end his attack on Ukraine and withdraw troops from the territory of Ukraine, so that this war finally comes to an end,” he said.

Scholz said the meeting was “interesting” and other Western leaders have also called on Putin to end this war, and withdraw Russian troops from Ukraine.

“It was a good opportunity for us to make it clear that peace in Ukraine is endangered because Russia attacked Ukraine and that it can easily be restored if Russia withdraws its troops,” he continued.

“We have made that clear, as have others. In this respect, it was also interesting because he had to listen.”