German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Turkish President Erdogan (Reuters)
Anadolu Agency: German chancellor has changed his stance, wants ‘common ground’ with Russia, says Turkish president
Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s remarks came during live interview
The German chancellor has changed his stance over Russia, saying that “we should find a common ground” with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, the Turkish president said on Wednesday.
Recalling Tuesday's phone call with his German counterpart Olaf Scholz, Erdogan highlighted the importance of “personal relations,” to bring “the most important steps” in diplomacy.
“We talked about this (importance of personal relations) with Mr. Putin yesterday,” Erdogan said during a live interview jointly broadcast by ATV, A Haber, A News and A Para.
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Update: Erdogan: German Chancellor Scholz has changed his opinion on Putin (Pravda)
WNU Editor: All past German Chancellors have always viewed the need to having close ties with Moscow as critical to their country's future and well being. Not only to have access to Russian resources and markets, but to keep the peace in Europe even if it meant making compromises and decisions to the detriment of other European nations.
There is also the history of World War Two, and what Germany did to Russia. Another reason why past German Chancellors were always sensitive to Russian security concerns and worries, and why these concerns had to be always met, even if other European states and the US were critical of Germany's decisions.
When elected last year German Chancellor Olaf Scholz decided to pursue a different policy, and instead of providing leadership to address Russia's security concerns in the fall of 2021, he stayed silent.
I speculated at the time that because German Chancellor Olaf Scholz leads a fragile coalition, he had to make compromises, and one of them was not addressing Russian concerns. Was that a mistake? Definitely, and we are now reaping the world-wind of those decisions.
The sad part of Erdogan's remarks is that even if Scholz has changed his opinion of Putin, I know that it is now too late. Russia - German relations are in ruins, and Moscow will never trust Berlin again. To say that both counties will be poorer because of this is an understatement. And as for European security. It will definitely be insecure and very fragile.