Olaf Scholz: "Putin has never threatened me or Germany"

Quoting the German leader, Der Spiegel magazine suggested that this issue arose after Boris Johnson claimed in an interview with the BBC last week that Putin allegedly threatened him with a missile strike in February 2022. Russia has denied the "inventions" of the former Prime Minister of Great Britain.

Now the chancellor was forced to talk about his telephone conversations with the Russian leader.

According to Scholz, the Russian president did not make threats against Germany in joint telephone conversations. "Rather, the negotiations were an exchange of controversial positions on the war in Ukraine. As a result, they became clearer", - the chancellor said.

Scholz also denied that Berlin's decision to supply Leopard tanks to Ukraine is a threat to Russia. Germany, he stressed, supplies combat tanks to Kiev along with other allies, including the United States, so that Ukrainians "can defend themselves".

When asked if there is an agreement with Kiev that weapons from the West will be used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine only on Ukrainian territory, and Russia will not be attacked on its territory, the German Chancellor replied: "There is a consensus on this issue".