Scholz-Putin call opens 'Pandora's box', Zelensky says

FRANCE 24

15 November 2024 at 11:03 am·1-min read

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday opened "Pandora's box" by undermining efforts to isolate the Russian leader.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to engage in peace talks with Ukraine, in the first call between the leaders 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.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday their conversation opened "Pandora's box" by undermining efforts to isolate the Russian leader.

"Now there may be other conversations, other calls. Just a lot of words. And this is exactly what Putin has long wanted: it is extremely important for him to weaken his isolation," Zelensky said in his evening address.

"Talk only gives Putin hope of easing his international isolation," Ukraine’s foreign ministry said.

"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."

‘Willingness to negotiate’

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‘Willingness to negotiate’

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