Volodymyr Zelensky, left, criticised German chancellor Olaf Scholz for reaching out to Ukraine’s enemy, Russia. Photo / Getty Images
Volodymyr Zelensky, left, criticised German chancellor Olaf Scholz for reaching out to Ukraine’s enemy, Russia. Photo / Getty Images
Ukraine accused Olaf Scholz of opening a “Pandora’s box” after he held a phone call with Vladimir Putin in an effort to bring about an end to the war.
The German Chancellor spoke with Putin for the first time in two years amid signs that European leaders are softening on negotiations with the Kremlin.
Donald Trump’s election victory has added fresh impetus to the search for a peace deal, with the President-elect appearing ready to cut aid to Kyiv after promising to end the conflict on “day one” of his administration.
Scholz urged the Russian President to “negotiate with Ukraine” in order to restore “just and lasting peace”, according to a German Government spokesman.
Putin said any peace deal would have to take Russia’s security interests into account and reflect “new territorial realities”, according to a read-out from the Kremlin.
The German Chancellor spoke to Trump on Sunday to discuss working “toward a return to peace in Europe”. The Chancellor revealed to Trump that he would speak to Putin.
On Friday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the call, saying Scholz had opened “Pandora’s box”.
Chancellor Scholz told me that he planned to call Putin. His call, in my opinion, opens Pandora's Box. There may now be other conversations and phone calls. Just a lot of words.
And this is exactly what Putin has long sought. It is critical for him to weaken his isolation, as… pic.twitter.com/zcTydmnxsM
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) November 15, 2024
Ukraine’s foreign ministry said in a statement: “Talk only give[s] Putin hope of easing his international isolation.
“What is needed are concrete, strong actions that will force him to peace, not persuasion and attempts at appeasement, which he sees as a sign of weakness and uses to his advantage.”
In the call, Putin told Scholz that Russia was willing to consider fresh energy deals with Germany. Berlin was heavily reliant on Russian gas before the war but direct shipments ceased when pipelines under the Baltic Sea were blown up in 2022.
Scholz plans to brief Zelenskyy, Germany’s allies, partners and the heads of the European Union and Nato on the outcome of Friday’s call. Putin and Scholz agreed to stay in contact, government sources said.
The Kremlin said that deep divisions remained with Germany but the fact of dialogue with Scholz was “positive”.
In a further sign of EU leaders’ openness to talks, Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, plans to make his first visit to an EU country since the war began next month.
He is set to attend the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s December meeting in Malta. The group monitored the front lines after Russia seized parts of eastern Ukraine in 2014.
It was reported that EU attendees may not stage a walkout when he speaks, as many did when he spoke at the UN in New York.
Earlier on Friday, Zelenskyy admitted the war would “end faster” with Trump in charge of the White House.
“The war will end, but there is no exact date,” he told local radio. “Certainly, with the policies of this team that will now lead the White House, the war will end sooner.”
Russia and Ukraine have been at war since Kremlin forces invaded in February 2022. Photo / Anadolu via Getty Images
Trump has appointed Tulsi Gabbard, who has repeatedly echoed Russian propaganda on the war in Ukraine, as his director of national intelligence.
After his “traffic-light” coalition collapsed last week, Scholz is running his campaign for re-election as a pragmatic, dovish voice on the future of Ukraine.
On Wednesday, Scholz staked his claim for re-election on his “prudent” policy in Ukraine in a speech to Parliament.
“I emphasise that I think it is right that I have, without change, played my part in ensuring that there has been no escalation”, adding “I am glad that I was allowed to take responsibility in these difficult times because I am sure that it has helped us to act prudently and sensibly in a dangerous situation”.
He accused the rival Conservative Democratic Union, led by Friedrich Merz, of a willingness to prolong the conflict through escalatory levels of military support. A snap election is due to be held on February 23.
Scholz’s fresh commitment to seeking an end to the war was seen within Germany as part of an appeal to voters drawn to the hard-Right AfD party, which is campaigning against support for Ukraine.
An EU official told The Telegraph that Scholz “is fighting for survival domestically so wanted possibly to divert attention. Per se it is not forbidden to talk to Putin as long that interaction is aimed at talking about stopping the war”.
On Scholz’s domestic struggles, a second EU diplomat added: “Scholz thinks he’ll be able to attract the AfD and Sahra Wagenknecht [far-Left politician] and thus save himself. But that’s too dangerous for Germany and Europe.”
According to the Washington Post, Trump spoke with Putin on Thursday, asking him not to escalate the war. The Kremlin denied any talks took place.
The US is Ukraine’s largest military backer, with Germany second, providing billions of euros in military and humanitarian support. Berlin has pledged continued support under Scholz but the Chancellor has long opposed allowing Kyiv to strike inside Russia using German-made long-range Taurus missiles.
Ukraine’s position on the battlefield has steadily worsened in recent months. Moscow’s forces have reportedly entered the city of Kupiansk in the east, and are making steady gains across the front.
In an interview with the German Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, Scholz said his call with Trump on the weekend was “perhaps surprisingly, a very detailed and good conversation”.
The two discussed the situation in Ukraine “for a while”, according to Scholz, who said Trump “has a more nuanced position than is often assumed”.
