Media Wire

Scholz’s call with Putin risks opening a ‘Pandora’s Box’: Ukraine

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin opens a "Pandora's box", potentially leading to "other conversations and other calls", Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned.

Scholz spoke with Putin for the first time in nearly two years. The German chancellor condemned Russia’s war in Ukraine, urged the Russian leader to withdraw his troops, and discussed potential talks with Kyiv.

Scholz had informed Zelensky in advance of his intention to call Putin. Zelensky reportedly responded, “This will just make Putin feel that the isolation is decreasing”, according to Suspilne, citing an undisclosed source in the Presidential Office.

In his evening address, Zelensky criticized any negotiations that could ease Russia’s isolation without meaningful outcomes.

“It is extremely important for Putin to loosen his isolation, Russia’s isolation, and to conduct ordinary negotiations that will not result in anything — as he has been doing for decades,” Zelensky added.

“This has allowed Russia to change nothing in its police, to do nothing in essence, and this is exactly what led to this war.”

Zelensky also reiterated that there would be no “Minsk-3”, referencing the Minsk agreements of 2014 and 2015, which proposed creating autonomous zones in Russian-occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts but excluded mention of occupied Crimea.

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry also expressed concerns over the Scholz-Putin call, stating that such lengthy conversations have been a tool Putin has exploited for over 20 years, now providing him hope for easing his international isolation.

“Even if the German chancellor did not express any positions contradicting Ukraine’s stance, conversations with the Russian dictator do not add value in achieving a just peace,” the ministry announced in a statement.

At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Ukraine and Russia held talks in Istanbul in March 2022, but the negotiations were eventually abandoned after Ukrainian retook the north of the country and mass war crimes were discovered in the liberated areas.

In comments to Ukraine’s Peace Summit in June this year, Zelensky stated the Istanbul talks failed because of the Russian side’s “ultimatums”.

IFP Media Wire

Reports and views published in the Media Wire section have been retrieved from other news agencies and websites, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Iran Front Page (IFP) news website. The IFP may change the headlines of the reports in a bid to make them compatible with its own style of covering Iran News, and does not make any changes to the content. The source and URL of all reports and news stories are mentioned at the bottom of each article.

Recent Posts

Syria’s new rulers name HTS figures as foreign, defence ministers

Syria’s new rulers have appointed foreign and defense ministers, the official news agency SANA has…

47 minutes ago

Qatar’s embassy in Syria reopened after 13 years

Qatar has officially reopened its embassy in the Syrian capital Damascus after nearly 13 years.

52 minutes ago

Two Iranians arrested abroad for alleged involvement in equipping drones used against US forces

Iranian nationals Mohammad Abedini and Mehdi Mohammad Sadeghi have been arrested in Milan and Massachusetts…

16 hours ago

7 soldiers killed in road crash in Iran’s Lorestan province

A tragic bus accident occurred on Saturday in Lorestan province, western Iran, killing seven soldiers…

16 hours ago

Azerbaijan president thanks Iran for support of Baku’s membership in D-8 group

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has expressed gratitude to Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian in a letter,…

16 hours ago

Over 12,000 civilians killed in Ukraine during Russia’s full-scale war: UN

More than 12,300 civilian deaths have been recorded in Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale…

16 hours ago