Scholz refuses Russian COVID test before meeting with Putin

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who arrived in Moscow, refused to take a PCR test for coronavirus to Russian doctors before meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This was reported with reference to sources close to the German Chancellor. Reuters, Bild and Suddeutsche Zeitung.

According to Bild, the Russian side demanded that all members of the German delegation do three PCR tests within four days before departure, one of which had to be taken 24 hours before departure. In addition, Russian doctors were supposed to take another PCR test from members of the delegation immediately after the plane landed, the newspaper writes.

Scholz refused to take a PCR test for doctors from Russia, the study was conducted by a doctor from the German Embassy in Moscow with medical equipment brought from Berlin, writes Süddeutsche Zeitung. Russian doctors were invited to be present during the procedure. According to the newspaper, there are 50 people in the German delegation, including journalists.

Scholz arrived for talks with Putin around noon, the topic of conversation will be the settlement of the crisis over Ukraine and the security guarantees offered by Russia.