Zelensky Panics As NATO Nation Dials Putin? Ukraine Fears ‘Other Calls’ Will Follow Scholz’s Move

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Germany’s Olaf Scholz on Friday of playing into the hands of Russian President Vladimir Putin after the chancellor spoke by phone to the Kremlin chief for the first time in almost two years.In the call, Scholz “condemned Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and called on President Putin to end it and withdraw troops”, the chancellor’s spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said.The German leader “urged Russia to show willingness to negotiate with Ukraine with the aim of achieving a just and lasting peace”, Hebestreit added in a statement.The Kremlin confirmed the call between Scholz and Putin, which it said was held at the invitation of the German side.Separately, Zelensky said Friday that Russia’s war against his country will “end sooner” than it otherwise would have done once Donald Trump becomes US president next year.”It is certain that the war will end sooner with the policies of the team that will now lead the White House. This is their approach, their promise to their citizens,” Zelensky said in an interview with Ukrainian media outlet Suspilne.The Kremlin described Putin’s call with Scholz as a “detailed and frank exchange of views over the situation in Ukraine”.Putin told the German leader that any agreement to end the war in Ukraine “should take into account the security interests of the Russian Federation”, the Kremlin added.An accord should “proceed from the new territorial realities and, most importantly, address the root causes of the conflict”.Russia has demanded Ukraine surrender four regions as a precondition for talks, which Kyiv has rejected.Ukraine responded angrily to Berlin reviving its lines of communication with Moscow. The call had opened a “Pandora’s Box”, Zelensky said.”This is exactly what Putin has been wanting for a long time: it is extremely important for him to weaken his isolation,” Zelensky said.