West intensifies diplomatic efforts to stop Russian attack on Ukraine

Mr Scholz, who has been in office since December, has been at the center of talks between the US, Europe and Russia. He is following the visits of French President Emmanuel Macron last week.

The visit comes amid heightened alarm in the West after the US warned over the weekend that a Russian invasion of Ukraine could be in the middle of the week, a warning that stunned financial markets in Europe on Monday.

Russia has massed more than 130,000 troops and a range of military hardware along the border with Ukraine and in other areas around the country, including Belarus. The Kremlin has repeatedly denied that it has any intention of attacking Ukraine.

Mr Scholz’s visit follows a phone call between President Biden and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on Saturday, and between Mr Biden and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday.

Mr Biden told Mr Zelensky that the US and its allies would respond promptly to any Russian aggression and warned Mr Putin that his country would face “sharp and dire costs” in the event of an invasion. An aide of Mr Putin said a comment posted on the Kremlin’s website that the call was requested by Mr Biden was what he called a US attempt to spread frenzy about an invasion.

Oil prices eased initially on Monday after fears that a war in Ukraine would halt the supply of Russian crude to the world at a time of relative scarcity.

Mr Scholz is set to meet Mr Zelensky in Kiev on Monday, then fly back to Berlin and head to Moscow for lunch with Mr Putin on Tuesday.

Many Western countries have called on their citizens to leave Ukraine immediately due to the threat.

“We expect immediate signs of de-escalation from Moscow.” Mr Scholz tweeted on Monday. “Another military offensive will have dire consequences for Russia … We are seeing a very serious threat to peace in Europe.”

Russian legislators said on Tuesday they could discuss proposals urging Mr Putin to formally recognize separatist-controlled regions of eastern Ukraine as independent states, Russian news agency TASS reported.

In 2014, Moscow instigated an insurgency by pro-Russian separatists in the Donbass in eastern Ukraine, and later provided them with military aid to cut two areas of territory from Kiev’s control. Those regions—Donetsk and Luhansk—are not recognized as independent internationally, and Ukrainian and Russian-backed forces still trade fire. Western officials fear that Moscow – which says military activity in the Donbass poses a threat to Russian security – will use such activity as a pretext for invasion.

TASS reported that both the ruling United Russia Party and the Communist Party have submitted proposals calling on Putin to accept the sovereignty of the two regions.

Warnings by the US government that Russia may be ready to invade Ukraine as early as Wednesday sparked concern, but there was also some skepticism in Europe.

A German official said on Sunday that intelligence could be interpreted in a variety of ways, while another said US sources did not say the attack was certain, but that there were indications that it could happen.

“Our concern is heightened, we are very concerned and believe that the situation is very serious and very dangerous, yet this is not a situation in which we would say: it is time to resign,” said the German official.

Officials close to Mr Scholz said his visits were aimed at showing solidarity and support for Ukraine, as well as trying to explore potential areas of talks with Mr Putin that would help ease the standoff on the Ukrainian borders.

In Kiev, Mr Scholz is set to discuss a German initiative to provide a 150 million euro loan to Ukraine, the equivalent of $150 million, as part of an old German policy of financial aid for the country. , for which Berlin has provided approximately €2 billion since 2014.

In Moscow, Mr Scholz is also ready to demonstrate that the European Union’s Western allies and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are united in their stance towards Moscow, German officials said, as well as offering substantial talks with the Russian president. .

“The Federal Chancellor will emphasize that we are insisting on the withdrawal and withdrawal of assembled troops, which can be seen not only as a threat, but also that we are prepared to initiate a dialogue in which Russia’s Misunderstandings can also be placed on the table and discussed,” said a senior German government official.

Mr Scholz will also seek to gain a better understanding of Mr Putin’s goals and explore whether dialogue can be established bilaterally as well as through international organizations such as NATO or the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

“To discuss all this and to see if there is common ground for mutual steps, sufficient dialogue” [with Mr. Putin] Worth the trip from our point of view,” said the German official.