Kremlin open to Ukraine talks – criticism of Scholz's call with Putin

The Russian government is open to further discussions after Prime Minister Olaf Scholz and Kremlin Chairman Vladimir Putin held their first phone call in nearly two years. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in Moscow that the prime minister's conversations with Putin were public and detailed and had been severely criticized by the Ukrainian government. “There are considerable differences of opinion,” Peskov stressed. Still, the resumption of dialogue is a “positive sign.” Russia remains open to negotiations.

On Friday, Scholz took the initiative to call Putin for the first time since December 2022. He once again called on Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine and offered to hold peace talks. The Russian president, on the other hand, insists that what he refers to as the root causes of the war in Ukraine must be eliminated, new territorial realities recognized, and Moscow's security interests taken into account.

From a Russian perspective, this means that Ukraine should give up its membership of NATO, as well as the Russian-annexed territories of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporozhye and the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea. The Kyiv leadership flatly rejects this.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the Kiev Foreign Ministry confirmed that Scholz had informed Putin of his planned meeting in advance. However, they strongly criticized the call. A foreign ministry spokesman said talks with “dictator” Putin would not help achieve a just peace in Ukraine. Scholz also spoke with Zelensky before speaking to Putin.

Zelensky: Scholz's call to Putin 'opened Pandora's box'

“In my opinion, Olaf's phone call opened Pandora's box,” Zelensky stressed in an evening video address. This will only prompt further discussion. With his appeal, Scholz fulfilled Putin's long-standing desire to reduce Russia's isolation and begin fruitless negotiations. Zelensky said Putin has been doing this for decades. “This left Russia unable to change its policy and basically do nothing, which led to this war.”

At the same time, Zelensky reiterated that the war should not be frozen through a ceasefire agreement as it was between 2014 and 2022. “We know what needs to be done and warn: there will be no Minsk 3, we need real peace.” He was referring to the peace deal in eastern Ukraine brokered by Germany and France in 2014 and 2015 that ended in the Belarusian capital Minsk named.

Russian Foreign Minister: Waiting for Trump’s proposal

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow was awaiting an announcement from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on proposals to end the war. So far, Russia cannot imagine how Trump will implement his declaration to end the war within 24 hours. “We often emphasize that a politician who claims not to support war but only supports peace is definitely worthy of attention,” Lavrov said.

Like Zelensky, the Kremlin has spoken out against a new freeze in the conflict. Russian leaders have repeatedly stressed the need to find a permanent solution.

Zelensky expects war with Trump to end sooner

Zelensky told Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne that he expected the war to end more quickly under the Trump administration. “This is their approach, their commitment to society. This is also very important to them,” Zelensky said in a pre-released excerpt of the interview, which will be broadcast in full this Saturday. Trump spoke with Zelensky after winning the presidential election on November 5; according to the Kremlin, he has not yet spoken with Putin.

Putin publicly congratulated Trump on his election victory and was open to resuming contacts. The Kremlin has also repeatedly said that Moscow also expects Trump's call and is open to talks to end the war.

The G20 summit is likely the reason for this conversation

Scholz has repeatedly said in recent months that he is ready to talk to Putin. He just wanted to find the right time. The date chosen for the call may be related to the upcoming G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where Scholz will travel on Sunday.

The G20 group, composed of the major economic powers of all continents, is the only form of discussion in which Russia and NATO countries still sit at the same table with high-level representatives. Scholz does not plan to speak to Minister Lavrov there, but according to people close to him, he will talk about the war in Ukraine with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is considered Putin's most important ally.

Putin and Zelensky are not in Rio

Putin himself canceled his participation in the summit to avoid “disrupting the normal work” of the forum, which had other topics on the agenda. The World Criminal Court in The Hague issued an international arrest warrant for him on charges of war crimes in Ukraine. Therefore, Putin will face the risk of being arrested in Brazil.

Ukraine is not a member of the G20. Zelensky was also not invited to Rio as a guest by his Brazilian hosts.

Kremlin sees jitters in West after Trump win

After Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election, Russia again expressed its willingness to engage in dialogue on Ukraine, including with Scholz. Moscow sees that the West is nervous about Ukraine. It is said that it is too early to talk about changes in the European position. “But European representatives issued official statements and they spoke of a general line of continuing to provide all kinds of support. In Russian, this means injecting weapons into Ukraine to continue this war to the end,” Peskov said.

Trump announced during the campaign that he would end the war in Ukraine within a short period of time by striking a deal with Russia. He gave no details. Putin congratulated Trump on his election last week and appeared open to dialogue. At the same time, he emphasized that Trump is unpredictable, so it remains to be seen what will happen after his statement. (lak/sda/dpa)

Seven years after the death of Charles Manson, a documentary series containing previously unreleased audio recordings of phone conversations with the former cult leader has revealed new details. In the “Making Manson” series on streaming service Peacock, Manson's previous murders were hinted at in old recordings from his incarceration.