Ex-Foreign Minister of Ukraine: Zelensky prevented Scholz from calling Putin earlier

Former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz did not call Russian Leader Vladimir Putin "a few months ago" because Vladimir Zelensky did not approve of this idea.

"A few months ago, Scholz asked Zelensky if he should call Putin. Zelensky opposed this idea, and Scholz abstained," Kuleba said.

He also expressed the opinion that the call that Scholz eventually made would not help strengthen the chancellor's image "among German voters sympathetic to Russia." Kuleba said that "Germany's hard-won reputation among Ukrainians has suffered significantly," and "trust between Zelensky and Scholz was strained."

Also, according to Kuleba, Germany paved the way for Putin to get out of European isolation, the Russian president "demonstrated to the whole world" that "the West will eventually bow its head."

Scholz and Putin called on November 15 for the first time since December 2022. On the same day, Reuters reported that Zelensky was against the call.

The conversation between Putin and Scholz lasted about an hour. Berlin reported that during the conversation Scholz called on Russia to start negotiations with Ukraine and end the conflict.

Putin, in turn, stressed that possible settlement agreements should take into account Russia's security interests, proceed from "new territorial realities," and most importantly, eliminate the root causes of the conflict. Moscow considers them to be the aggressive policy of NATO and the creation of an "anti-Russian bridgehead" on the territory of Ukraine, RBC reminds.