Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has criticised a phone call between German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying it has opened a “Pandora’s box”.
Friday night’s call was the pair’s first since December 2022, 10 months after Russia’s land, air and sea invasion of its neighbour on 24 February that year.
In his evening address, Mr Zelenskyy, who has heavily relied on EU and US support to fend off what Mr Putin has branded a “special military operation” to demilitarise Ukraine, said the conversation between the two leaders undermined efforts to isolate the Russian leader.
“Now there may be other conversations, other calls. Just a lot of words,” Mr Zelenskyy said.
“And this is exactly what Putin has long wanted: It is extremely important for him to weaken his isolation.”
The call between Mr Scholz, whose Social Democrats party faces a snap election in February, and Mr Putin lasted for around an hour, German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said.
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In a statement, Mr Hebestreit said Mr Scholz condemned “Russia’s war of aggression” during the conversation, calling on Mr Putin to end it by withdrawing troops.
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“The chancellor urged Russia to be willing to negotiate with Ukraine with the aim of achieving a just and lasting peace and stressed Germany’s unwavering determination to support Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression for as long as necessary,” the spokesman said.
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Following the call, the Kremlin said Mr Putin had told the German chancellor any agreement to end the war in Ukraine should reflect “new territorial realities”. He added any deal should acknowledge Russia’s security demands, including that Kyiv renounce joining NATO.
But with the conflict reaching its 1,000th day next week, Mr Zelenskyy said on Friday evening there will be “no new Minsk Agreement” (two ceasefire/peace agreements both sides agreed to back in 2014 and again in 2015) with Ukraine wanting “fair peace”.
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German officials said Mr Putin and Mr Scholz agreed to stay in contact following the call, which according to the Kremlin came at the request of Berlin.
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It comes amid widespread speculation over what the re-election of Donald Trump as US president will mean for Ukraine, as the president-elect has repeatedly questioned the amount of aid given to Kyiv.
During his election campaign to win a second term, Mr Trump repeatedly said he could bring peace in Ukraine within 24 hours, but hasn’t yet given much information on how he would try to achieve that.
