Former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz consulted with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy several months ago about a possible call to Russian ruler Vladimir Putin.

Source: Kuleba on social network X (Twitter), as reported by European Pravda

Details: According to the former foreign minister, several months ago, Scholz asked Zelenskyy if a call to Putin would be appropriate.

"Zelensky opposed the idea, and Scholz refrained," he said.

However, according to Kuleba, after the US election, despite Zelenskyy's previous objections to the advisability of negotiations with Putin, Scholz decided to call the Kremlin leader.

"Zelensky publicly but gently criticised him for it," he said.

Kuleba added that the German chancellor's decision has several implications, including the fact that Putin "broke out of European isolation, and Germany paved the way. Right after Hungary."

"Putin showcased to the world that his strategy is working – the West will eventually bow its head under the cover of urging him to stop the war which he is not going to do," he said.

Kuleba also drew attention to the fact that with this step, Scholz had damaged Germany's reputation among Ukrainians.

The former minister is also confident that the German chancellor's decision will not strengthen his image among German voters.

At the same time, the former foreign minister admitted that he may not know "all the arguments in favour of the call", but he "struggles to see how it was justified".

Background:

• On 15 November, it was revealed that Olaf Scholz had spoken with the Kremlin leader for the first time in two years. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described Scholz’s call with Putin as a "Pandora’s box".
• Jürgen Hardt, a member of the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) opposition bloc in Germany, believes that Putin will see Scholz's move as "a sign of weakness, not strength".
• At the same time, Secretary General of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) Matthias Miersch defended the chancellor's decision.

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