Volodymyr Zelensky has criticised German chancellor Olaf Scholz for holding the country’s first phone call with Vladimir Putin in almost two years.
The Ukrainian president said the call with the Russian leader could open “Pandora’s Box”.
The diplomatic situation around the war has intensified since Donald Trump won the US election and pledged to end the war as soon as he takes office in January.
Mr Zelensky tweeted: “His call, in my opinion, opens Pandora's Box. Now there may be other conversations, other calls. Just a lot of words.
“And this is exactly what Putin has long sought. It is critical for him to weaken his isolation, as well as Russia's isolation, and to hold mere talks that will lead nowhere. He has been doing this for decades.
“This has allowed Russia to avoid making any changes to its policies, effectively doing nothing, which has ultimately led to this war.
“We understand all the current challenges and we know what to do.”
Chancellor Scholz told me that he planned to call Putin. His call, in my opinion, opens Pandora's Box. There may now be other conversations and phone calls. Just a lot of words.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) November 15, 2024
And this is exactly what Putin has long sought. It is critical for him to weaken his isolation, as… pic.twitter.com/zcTydmnxsM
German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said that the call between Mr Scholz and Mr Putin lasted for around one hour, according to Sky.
He said: "The chancellor urged Russia to be willing to negotiate with Ukraine with the aim of achieving a just and lasting peace and stressed Germany's unwavering determination to support Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression for as long as necessary.”
It was the first call between Germany and Mr Putin since December 2022.
The war has been raging since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and it is now approaching its 1,000th day.
Mr Zelensky said in a new interview he is certain the war with Russia will “end sooner” than it otherwise would have done once Donald Trump becomes US president.
Zelensky said he had a “constructive exchange” with Trump during their phone conversation after his victory in the US presidential election.
He did not say whether Trump had made any demands regarding possible talks with Russia, but said he'd not heard anything from him that was contrary to Ukraine’s position.
Mr Zelensky has said that he will not sign any ceasefire that will compromise his nation - and has ruled out anything similar to the deals struck in Minsk to end the 2014 conflict.
Russia was ready to look at energy deals if Berlin was interested, the Kremlin said - according to Reuters.
"It was emphasised that Russia has always strictly fulfilled its treaty and contractual obligations in the energy sector and is ready for mutually beneficial cooperation if the German side shows interest in this," the Kremlin said.
Russia shipped some 15 billion cubic metres of gas via Ukraine in 2023, about 8 per cent of peak Russian gas flows to Europe via various routes in 2018-2019.
In 2023, the Ukraine transit route met 65 per cent of gas demand in Austria and its eastern neighbours Hungary and Slovakia, according to the International Energy Agency.
Ukraine has said it doesn't plan to extend the transit agreement into 2025.
Hungary no longer receives much gas via Ukraine and imports volumes via the TurkStream pipeline that runs along the bed of the Black Sea. Slovakia still receives Russian gas via Ukraine.
Gazprom's move showed Russia flexing its muscles at the West as pressure builds for a ceasefire in Ukraine, said Ulrich Schmid, a professor at University of St Gallen.
“Russia likely felt emboldened after Donald Trump won the US presidency this month pledging to quickly end the Ukraine war,” he added.
