Schulz: Diplomatic efforts to avoid war in Ukraine "never exhausted"
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stressed that the announcement of the withdrawal of Russian forces from the Ukrainian border is a "good signal", and said that diplomatic efforts to avoid a war in Ukraine "have never been exhausted."
This comes after Russia ordered, on Tuesday, the return of troops deployed near the border with Ukraine to their barracks, in the first sign of a breakthrough, as its presence for weeks has raised fears of an invasion causing tension between the Russians and Westerners.
The announcement came before the German chancellor met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow about this crisis, which has been fueled for weeks by the deployment of more than 100,000 Russian soldiers in the vicinity of pro-Western Ukraine, which the Kremlin wants to return to its sphere of influence.
The Russian president said that the meeting will be broadly devoted to "security and the ongoing discussions on this issue, particularly in relation to Ukraine," while the German official said he was waiting for "impartial discussions."
Before noon, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that "the military units of the southern and western regions have completed their mission and started loading operations via road and rail transport and returning to their barracks today."
Subsequently, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, "We have always said that after the exercises are over ... the soldiers will return to their permanent bases. There is nothing new here. It is a normal operation."
Moscow did not give any details about the number of troops withdrawn or the timetable for their withdrawal.
On the other hand, Peskov denounced Western "hysteria", which accuses the Russians of aggressive intentions.
The army broadcast scenes of tanks loaded onto freight trains.
But NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said there were no indications that Moscow was withdrawing its forces from the border.
He told reporters, "There are indications from Moscow that diplomatic means should continue. This leads to cautious optimism. But so far we have not seen any indication of de-escalation on the ground."
France welcomed this "positive sign" if information about a Russian withdrawal from the border with Ukraine was confirmed.
For his part, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that intelligence about the Russian deployment at the border "remains not encouraging" despite the announcement of the withdrawal and "openness to dialogue" by Moscow.
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