German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told Russian President Vladimir Putin that the deployment of North Korean troops against Ukraine represents a “serious escalation” of the conflict, according to government sources.
In the first call between the two leaders in almost two years, Scholz called on Putin to withdraw his troops from Ukraine and end the war.
The Kremlin described the conversation as “a frank and detailed exchange of views on the situation in Ukraine” and added that “the mere fact of the dialogue is positive.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the call amounts to a “Pandora’s box” and eases Putin’s isolation.
According to government sources, Scholz condemned the Russian attack on Ukraine and called on Moscow to negotiate with Kyiv to achieve a “just and lasting peace.”
He also underlined “Germany’s unwavering determination to support Ukraine in its defensive fight against Russian aggression as much as necessary.”
Scholz especially condemned Russian airstrikes against civilian infrastructure.
The call lasted approximately an hour and at the end both leaders agreed to stay in touch. Russian media reported that, according to the Kremlin, the call was a German initiative.
The German government will try to avoid accusations that it is seeking a deal with Moscow behind Ukraine’s back. In Eastern Europe, bitter memories survive of the time in the 20th century when Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union divided the region.
The German government highlighted in a statement that Scholz spoke to Zelensky before calling Putin and that he planned to do so afterwards to give you an account of what was discussed.
According to a statement sent by the Kremlin to Russian media, Putin told Scholz that Russian-German relations had suffered “an unprecedented deterioration” as a result of the “unfriendly course” taken by Germany.
According to the Kremlin, Putin told Scholz that any peace agreement must “be based on new territorial realities.”“, which seems to be an allusion to the Ukrainian territory occupied by Russia since Putin launched his invasion in 2022.
Putin also stated that any peace agreement will require eliminating “the root causes of the conflict.” The Kremlin justified the invasion of Ukraine in the “expansion” towards the east of Europe of which it accuses NATO.
“The current crisis is the direct result of years of aggressive NATO policy aimed at creating a bridgehead against Russia on Ukrainian territory,” Putin said on the call.
Peace talks
Scholz announced his intention to speak with Putin in a television interview last Sunday and said he was seeking to push for peace talks. He claimed not to act alone.
There has been speculation that Scholz plans to discuss the war in Ukraine also with Russian President Xi Jinping at next week’s G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro.
The last time Putin and Scholz spoke by phone was in December 2022. Their last in-person meeting happened a week before Russia launched its troops against Ukraine.
Scholz then returned with promises from Putin that Russia had no intention of invading Ukraine. The attack launched just a week later marked the complete breakdown of trust between Berlin and Moscow.
Germany tried for years to maintain peace with Russia by establishing commercial and energy ties between the two countries, but that was blown up when Putin decided to invade Ukraine.
Germany is, after the United States, the country that provides the most military and financial aid to Ukraine. and political leaders from different parties advocate supporting it.
But with elections in Germany scheduled for February, pressure is mounting from different fronts to engage in serious negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.
The far-right AfD and the populist left BSW, which could obtain between a quarter and a third of the votes, accuse the government of not having done enough to promote a peace agreement.
The three-party coalition on which Scholz has based his government broke up last week and the chancellor will govern as a minority until the elections. Polls show a notable loss of support for the chancellor and his party, the Social Democratic Party of Germany.
Germany has suffered negative consequences derived from the war in Ukraine, both political and negative.
So any sign that Scholz is helping to end the conflict could change his fortunes at the polls.
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