For the first time since the start of the Russian invasion, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had an hour-long telephone conversation Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to the Kremlin spokesperson, “Putin explained in detail to Scholz our vision of the situation and possible prospects for development.”
On the side of the German government, Olaf Scholz asked Russia to show its “willingness to begin negotiations with Ukraine with a view to a just and lasting peace.” The call appears to have been rather tense, given that positions on both sides remain unchanged.
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Anger of the Ukrainian president
This call, which made Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky jump, comes in the context where Donald Trump was re-elected and whose position is known: he asks Europe to “take its responsibilities” and believes that the United States does not do not have to defend Ukraine.
“Conversations with the Russian dictator alone do not bring any added value to achieving a just peace,” said the spokesperson for Ukrainian diplomacy, who is in the same direction as Volodymyr Zelensky.
The Ukrainian president calls for “concrete and strong actions” to force Russia into peace. In other words, Ukraine is essentially asking Europe to consolidate its defense and give it weapons rather than giving in to Russia.
Sentiment d’abandon
Vladimir Putin would have no interest in signing a peace agreement, according to the Ukrainian president. As it stands, Russia’s war economy is working well for it and its army is advancing into Ukraine more than ever. Conversely, Ukraine is in great difficulty.
In fact, talking about negotiations directly with the Russian president, without giving guarantees in terms of long-term security, gives the Ukrainians the impression that they are abandoned.
