The talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz lasted three hours in the Kremlin, as the visiting German politician and the Russian leader tried to avert a possible military conflagration in the region.

The German Chancellor stressed that relations between Germany and Russia are “good” and that bilateral economic ties still have great potential. Regarding the Kremlin’s announcement of the withdrawal of Russian troops, Solz said it was a “good sign”.

At the same time, however, the German chancellor expressed to Putin his strong concern about the thousands of soldiers who remain at the border: “We are very worried about what will happen to the hundreds of thousands of soldiers and their activities in the near future. We can not see any logic in the presence of troops. Therefore, de-escalation is urgently needed. This is important in this tense and difficult situation so that there is no war in Europe, ” Olaf Solz said.

For his part, Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed that Russia is ready for dialogue with the EU and all Western countries.

“However,” he said, “Russia’s interests must be duly taken into account.” “We do not want a war in Europe,” said Putin, adding that this was why his country was demanding security guarantees from the West. He stressed, however, that, so far, his country’s demands have not been met satisfied. He also praised the importance of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in the Baltic Sea, which he said would boost Europe’s energy security.

Some Russian forces near the Ukrainian border are returning to their bases, according to Moscow. “Russian troops will return to their bases after completing their exercises, and units in Russia’s southern and western military districts have already begun loading their equipment for their withdrawal”, said Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov, Tuesday. The Kremlin also confirmed the start of the withdrawal, calling it a “normal process” and denouncing Western “hysteria” over an alleged imminent invasion of the country by Moscow.

“The most important thing is that we manage relations between countries through good discussions with each other,” Scholz said as he met Putin, adding he was glad the two leaders were able to meet face to face.

“It is our absolute duty as heads of government that Europe does not see a de-escalation into war,” Scholz said.

“We are ready to work further together. We are ready to go down the negotiations track,” Putin told the press conference.

Putin added that Germany “is one of Russia’s most important partners” and said it intended to cooperate further with Berlin. He emphasized the role of economic ties between the two, with Germany being Russia’s second-biggest trade partner after China.