The chancellor reiterated that Moscow must withdraw its troops from Ukraine and “end the war.”
Ukrainian anger
This exchange provoked the anger of Ukraine, which sees it as “an attempt at appeasement” towards Moscow at a time when the Ukrainians are losing ground on the front and fear losing the support of the United States, after the victory of Donald Trump in the presidential election.
Talking to Vladimir Putin “opens Pandora’s box,” blasted Volodymyr Zelensky, who fears being forced into negotiations unfavorable to Ukraine.
During the interview, Vladimir Putin reaffirmed that any peace agreement should reflect “new territorial realities”, according to the Kremlin.
This is the Russian position repeated for months. Russia is open to peace negotiations, but with “concessions” from kyiv: the cession of the Ukrainian territories that Moscow annexed in 2022 without fully controlling them. A condition deemed unthinkable by kyiv.
“Conversations with the Russian dictator alone do not bring any added value to achieve a just peace,” criticized the spokesperson for Ukrainian diplomacy, Georgii Tykhy, calling instead for “concrete and strong actions” to force Russia to peace.
Allies informed
Olaf Scholz had warned Volodymyr Zelensky of his call to Vladimir Putin. Washington, Paris and London knew the German Chancellor’s intention without, however, the messages having been “coordinated”, according to those close to French President Emmanuel Macron.
Olaf Scholz will be able to inform in more detail the G20 leaders he is due to meet during the summit organized Monday and Tuesday in Brazil. A meeting of several heads of EU diplomacy is also planned for Tuesday in Warsaw to mark the thousand days of the Russian invasion in Ukraine.
In a first comment on Friday, the head of the Polish government Donald Tusk welcomed the fact that Olaf Scholz had said that “nothing about Ukraine” would be done “without Ukraine”.
The German Chancellor also reiterated to the Russian leader “the determination” of Germany and the EU to support Ukraine “as long as necessary”.
The last call between the German and Russian leaders dates back to December 2, 2022, some 9 months after the start of Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine on February 24, 2022. It is also the last known telephone exchange between the head of the Kremlin and the leader of a large Western country.
Election campaign
According to the Kremlin, which described the exchange as “frank and detailed,” the call took place “at the initiative of the German side.”
Since the Russian invasion, Germany has been the second largest supplier of military aid to kyiv, after the United States. But despite repeated requests from Volodymyr Zelensky, Chancellor Scholz tirelessly refused to provide long-range Taurus missiles requested by kyiv to better defend itself.
The fear of an escalation with Moscow regularly put forward by the German leader has also earned him criticism from some of his European allies who criticize him for his lack of determination.
Olaf Scholz recently called for increased efforts to end the conflict diplomatically, in consultation with kyiv and that country’s allies.
In mid-October, he judged that the time had come “to do everything – in addition to clearly supporting Ukraine – to find a way to prevent this war from continuing.”
“There will never be decisions taken over Ukraine’s head, and never without consultation with our closest partners,” he assured.
Military and financial support for kyiv and Germany’s defense policy will be one of the subjects of the electoral campaign which should lead the country to early legislative elections on February 23.
