North Korean troops in Ukraine ‘increasing dramatically’, Scholz tells Putin

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday that Russia’s deployment of North Korean troops against Ukraine is a “major escalation” of the conflict, according to government sources.

In the first phone call between the leaders in nearly two years, Scholz called on Putin to end the war and withdraw Russian troops from Ukraine.

The Kremlin described the conversation as “a detailed and frank exchange of views on the situation in Ukraine”, adding that “the very fact of the dialogue is good”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the call was “Pandora’s box” and said it weakened Putin’s isolation.

According to government sources, the chancellor condemned Russia’s attack on Ukraine and called on Moscow to negotiate with Kyiv to reach a “just and lasting peace”.

He reiterated Germany’s “unwavering determination to support Ukraine in its struggle to defend itself against Russian aggression for as long as necessary”.

Scholz specifically condemned Russian airstrikes on civilian infrastructure.

The phone conversation lasted about an hour and both leaders agreed to stay in touch. Russian media reported that according to the Kremlin, the call was initiated by Germany.

The German government will be determined to avoid any suspicions that Berlin is trying to make a deal with Moscow over the head of Ukraine, especially given the painful memories of the 20th century in eastern Europe of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union carving up the region between them.

In a written statement, the chancellor’s office highlighted that Scholz also spoke with Zelensky before calling Putin. Scholz also planned to speak with Zelensky again when the call was over to provide details on the conversation with the Russian president.

In a statement released by the Kremlin to Russian media, Putin reportedly told Scholz that Russian-German relations had suffered an “unprecedented deterioration across the board because the German authorities were “unfriendly”.

According to the Kremlin, Putin told Scholz that any possible peace agreement must be “based on local realities” – in other words, the territory of Ukraine occupied by Russia from 2022.

Putin also said that a peace deal can only be achieved by removing the “causes of the conflict”. The Kremlin is justifying its invasion of Ukraine on the charge of NATO “growth” in eastern Europe.

In this call, Putin is reported to have said that “the current crisis is a direct result of NATO’s policy for many years that aims to create a bridgehead against Russia in the territory of Ukraine”.

In an interview with German television last Sunday, Scholz said he plans to talk to Putin to push for peace talks. He said he was not doing it himself but he was negotiating with others.

There is speculation that Scholz plans to talk to Chinese president Xi Jinping, who is a lukewarm supporter of Russia, about the war in Ukraine at the G20 next week in Rio de Janeiro.

The last time Scholz spoke to Putin on the phone was 2 December 2022. They last met in person a week before the all-out invasion of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Scholz returned to Berlin with Putin’s assurances that Russia had no intention of attacking Ukraine. This attack a week later was the last break of trust between Germany and Russia.

For decades, Berlin has been trying to ensure peace with Moscow by tying the two countries together with trade and energy links. That desire vanished in an instant when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Today, Germany is the largest donor of military and financial aid to Ukraine after the US, and mainstream politicians from across the political spectrum, as well as many voters, like to support Ukraine.

But with German elections now looming in February, pressure is mounting for serious peace talks to end the war in Ukraine.

The far-right AfD and the new left-wing populist BSW, which are likely to win between a quarter and a third of the vote in the election, accuse the government of not doing enough to deliver a peace deal.

Scholz’s governing coalition collapsed last week and is now running a minority government until the election. Both he and his party did poorly in the election.

Germany has been hit hard by the war in Ukraine, politically and economically.

So any signs that Scholz is helping to end the controversy could change his fortunes at the ballot box.