Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin by telephone on November 15, urging the Kremlin leader to end the war against Ukraine and negotiate with Kyiv for a "just and lasting peace," the chancellor's office said.
But the first direct conversation in nearly two years between the German and Russian leaders elicited a warning from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who said Scholz's call was a "Pandora's box" that could help Putin "ease his isolation, Russia's isolation, and engage in conventional negotiations that won't end in anything."
Zelenskiy said such empty exchanges are "exactly what Putin has been wanting for a long time" as the 2 1/2-year-old full-scale invasion grinds on.
Scholz expressed "unwavering determination to support Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression for as long as necessary," Berlin said.
"The chancellor condemned Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and called on President Putin to end it and withdraw troops," Scholz's office said.
It also said Scholz spoke with Zelenskiy before the Putin call and would speak again afterward.
The Kremlin said the conversation came at Germany's request and was "a detailed and frank exchange of views on the situation in Ukraine."
It repeated Moscow talking points on the origins of the conflict in "NATO's long-term aggressive policy" and said Russia had "never refused and remains open to resuming negotiations." It cited a speech by Putin in June and said any possible deal should take Russian security interests into account along with "new territorial realities and, most importantly, eliminate the root causes of the conflict."
Putin, the Kremlin said, described Russian-German relations as having suffered "unprecedented degradation in all areas" and said Russia was prepared for "mutually beneficial cooperation" in the energy sector.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Scholz talked to him afterward and that Warsaw was satisfied he "reiterated the Polish position: 'Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.'"
Reuters quoted a source as saying Scholz told Putin that the deployment of North Korean troops for combat missions is a significant escalation and expansion of the war.
