For the first time in nearly two years, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Russian President Vladimir Putin have spoken on the phone. Scholz urged Putin to be willing to negotiate with Ukraine toward achieving a just and lasting peace and demanded the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine.
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00:00All right, let's go now to our political correspondent, Simon Young.
00:04He's in Berlin following this.
00:05Simon, what more do we know about this Friday phone call between Shultz and Putin?
00:12Brent, this was an hour-long call between the two leaders, and Olaf Shultz used it to
00:20condemn what's being described as Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine.
00:26The chancellor said that Russia had not achieved any of its war aims and called on Putin to
00:31end the war and pull Russian troops out of Ukrainian territory.
00:35In particular, Chancellor Shultz seems to have focused on the suffering of the civilian
00:41population in Ukraine, talking about the attacks against civilian infrastructure that we've
00:48seen increasingly in recent months, sort of drone and missile attacks carried out by the
00:53Russians.
00:54So that was one focus.
00:55Another thing that the chancellor apparently mentioned was the presence of North Korean
01:00troops now on the ground in this conflict, fighting on behalf of the Russians.
01:07Olaf Shultz said that was a serious escalation.
01:11And Shultz went on to say, again, that Germany has what is being described as unbreakable
01:18resolve to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes and support Kiev.
01:24Now, the two leaders agreed to remain in contact, but of course, Shultz also saying that he
01:31will continue to talk with President Zelensky of Ukraine, but also with the other allies
01:37in NATO and the European Union.
01:40Simon Putin and Shultz apparently had no reason to speak with each other for the past two
01:45years.
01:46What has changed?
01:47Why is this call happening now?
01:51Well, I think there are a couple of reasons.
01:55Firstly, you know, we're coming up to a thousand days of this war in Ukraine and the geopolitical
02:02situation has significantly changed.
02:05The German government has fallen apart and Olaf Shultz himself is soon to be a sort of
02:13lame duck chancellor.
02:14Meanwhile, we've got a new president elect in the United States.
02:19So there are questions about the West's commitment to supporting Ukraine going forward.
02:27And I suppose that Shultz sees a sort of possibility or wanted to make one last effort, if you
02:34like, to put forward the possibility of ending this war and bringing it to a solution.
02:41Secondly, here in Germany, we're entering an election campaign in effect.
02:48The war in Ukraine is an issue that plays with some voters.
02:51Indeed, it's one of the reasons why the government here has fallen apart.
02:56The cost of supporting Ukraine in that war.
02:59So Shultz wants to be associated with this message of peace, the idea that there could
03:04still be a diplomatic solution and a negotiated settlement.
03:09His conservative opponents are much more hawkish on Ukraine.
03:14So that's why I think Shultz is here pushing peace as well.
03:18Simon, depending on who you ask, this phone call can make a leader, particularly a leader
03:22who is a candidate campaigning to be reelected, look very leader-like, if you will.
03:28Were we able to confirm?
03:29Do we know who called whom today?
03:32Well, I don't think that's been specifically confirmed, but it's pretty clear that Olaf
03:38Shultz and his team have been preparing this call for some time.
03:43The chancellor was talking about it and the delicate way of setting it up in an interview
03:48just a few days ago.
03:49He also spoke with President Zelensky in advance to discuss it.
03:54And incidentally, we've heard from Kiev that Zelensky cautioned him against doing it, saying
03:59that that it would reduce the isolation of Putin.
04:04There's also incidentally been reaction from Moscow as well.
04:08The Kremlin saying they were pleased that this discussion had taken place, a detailed
04:13discussion as they described it, although they underlined again that there are many
04:17differences on how to end the conflict between Moscow and Berlin.
04:24DW's political correspondent Simon Young with the latest tonight here in Berlin on that
04:28phone call between Putin and Shultz.
04:30Simon, thank you.