Summary
Vladimir Putin told German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that NATO must accept “new territorial realities” in Ukraine as a precondition for peace talks, reiterating claims that NATO’s “aggressive policies” and disregard for Russian security interests caused the war.
Scholz condemned Russia’s aggression and called for troop withdrawal during the call, which has drawn criticism from Kyiv.
Ukrainian President Zelensky warned the talks could ease Putin’s international isolation without altering Russia’s stance.
A Western diplomat suggested Scholz might leverage the call domestically amid Germany’s upcoming snap elections.
It’s kind of a Russian tradition to throw every person at a conflict and hope it works out. During WWII they had more people than guns, but people got sent out anyway
It’s straight from Zapp Brannigan’s Big Book of War
Second line picks up the guns dropped by the first line. Makes sense, in a Russian kind of way.