In joust with Putin, Germany's Scholz displays more assertive style
By Sarah Marsh and Madeline Chambers
MOSCOW/BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has been accused of weak leadership in the Ukraine crisis and being soft on Russia. Yet on his visit to the Kremlin on Tuesday, he not only stood up to Russian President Vladimir Putin, he seemed to relish it.
Political pundits wondered how the mild-mannered Scholz, who took office in December, would fare treading into "the lion's den". Russian officials have been known to publicly taunt or seek to outplay their visitors in a test of their mettle.
Putin invited his black Labrador into a meeting with former Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2007 despite her well-known fear of dogs.
But Scholz was unexpectedly combative in his joint news conference with Putin during a day-trip to Moscow that was part of frantic diplomacy to avert a Russian invasion of Ukraine - even while maintaining his trademark quiet, measured tone.
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