Germany’s Scholz Holds Talks With Putin On Ukraine, Zelenskyy Says ‘Will Lead Nowhere’
Ukraine on Friday condemned German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s call to Russian President Vladimir Putin as an “attempt at appeasement” that Moscow would see as a sign of weakness.
Scholz on Friday urged Putin to engage in peace talks with Ukraine, in the first call between the leaders in almost two years. In the call, Scholz “condemned Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and called on President Putin to end it and withdraw troops”, the chancellor’s spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said.
“I spoke to President Putin on the phone and called on him to end the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and to withdraw his troops. Russia must show willingness to negotiate with Ukraine – with the aim of achieving a just and lasting peace,” said Scholz on X.
“Talk only gives Putin hope of easing his international isolation,” Ukraine’s foreign ministry said. “What is needed are concrete, strong actions that will force him to peace, not persuasion and attempts at appeasement, which he sees as a sign of weakness and uses to his advantage.”
‘Talks Will Lead Nowhere’: Zelenskyy On Scholz’s Call
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, while confirming that Scholz had told him he would be calling Putin, warned that the talks would open “a Pandora’s box”.
“This is exactly what Putin has been wanting for a long time: it is extremely important for him to weaken his isolation, as well as Russia’s isolation, and to hold mere talks that will lead nowhere. He has been doing this for decades,” he said.
The calls come amid widespread speculation on what the upcoming administration of Donald Trump in the United States would mean for Ukraine. However, Scholz said in an interview Trump privately held “more nuanced” positions on Ukraine, days after he spoke with the president-elect of the United States by phone. Without giving many details, Scholz said he got the impression Trump “has a more nuanced position than is often assumed”.
‘Russia Open To New Talks’: Putin
The German leader “urged Russia to show willingness to negotiate with Ukraine with the aim of achieving a just and lasting peace”, Hebestreit added in a statement. Scholz also stressed “Germany’s unwavering determination to support Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression for as long as necessary”.
He also condemned Russian air raids on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure and warned that the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia to fight in the war would mark a serious escalation. On the other hand, Meanwhile, the Kremlin responded to Scholz by saying that Moscow was open to new talks and pointed to Putin’s earlier proposal that Kyiv should cede territory and back off its plans to join NATO.
Putin had a “detailed and frank exchange of views over the situation in Ukraine” with Scholz, with the call initiated by the German side. Putin told Scholz that any agreement to end the war in Ukraine “should take into account the security interests of the Russian Federation” the Kremlin added. An accord should “proceed from the new territorial realities and, most importantly, address the root causes of the conflict”.