MOSCOW, Mar 18 Friday's telephone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz can hardly be called friendly — he was tough, but business-like, and the need for dialogue remains, said the press secretary of the Russian leader Dmitry Peskov. «The conversation, of course, can hardly be called friendly … this is a tough conversation. there is less need for such contacts, for the exchange of information and for discussing sensitive issues related to the special operation [in Ukraine — ed.],» Peskov told reporters. Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24. President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.» For this, according to him, it is planned to carry out «demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine.» According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the Armed Forces strike only at the military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops. With the support of the Russian Armed Forces, the DPR and LPR forces are developing an offensive, but there is no talk of the occupation of Ukraine, the Russian president emphasized. negotiations, Putin told Scholz
