Erdogan: German Chancellor Scholz has changed his opinion on Putin

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz changed his stance on Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Daily Sabah publication said.

According to Erdogan, just a month ago, Scholz was taking a completely different position towards Russia. Today, however, the German politician believes that one should find a common language with the Russian president.

In a conversation with A Haber TV channel, Erdogan said that world leaders have wrong attitude towards Putin. According to the Turkish president, everyone whom he talked to on the sidelines of the summit of the European Political Community in Prague spoke negatively of the Russian president. At the same time, Putin is not the kind of politician who will take a step back when under pressure, Erdogan noted.

"Being one of the most respected countries in the world like Russia, would you stand up and say yes to such attacks? This is impossible,” the Turkish president stressed.

Scholz spoke positively about conversations with Putin

Olaf Scholz said in late October that Western media interpreted official reports about Russia-Germany negotiations quite freely. The German chancellor said that he did not talk about negotiations with Vladimir Putin for a good cause.

"But here's what I can say: the reports that I read about the alleged threats during these negotiations are false,” the chancellor admitted.

In September, Scholz positively characterized his conversations with the Russian president. The politician said the tone of talks with the Russian president was "always friendly" despite differences of opinions.

At the same time, in October, the German chancellor said that Russia was using such topics as energy and food crises as the main weapon in the conflict with the West. Prior to that, Olaf Scholz also accused the Russian president of initiating the special military operation in Ukraine as a crusade against the West, ideas of liberalism and the Western world order.

Putin expresses his respect for Erdogan

In turn, Vladimir Putin believes that his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan never lets anyone walk all over him. For Erdogan, Turkey's interests are always first priority, Putin believes. The Turkish president is a complex, but consistent and reliable partner. According to Putin, it takes a lot of time and effort for Russia and Turkey to come to the point when they can make decisions.