The hour-long conversation marked the return of diplomacy to the decade-long conflict, even if their talk brought the familiar refrain it was not yet time to talk.
One Western official said there was an “overall collective holding of breath” in Western capitals ahead of Trump’s inauguration.
“The Germans speaking to Putin – that will have gone down badly” among Ukraine’s allies, the official said.
“Giving Putin that positive bounce will have irked the French and others.” French President Emmanuel Macron has been particularly vocal about continuing support for Ukraine.
Kremlin critics also warn of its history of using diplomacy as a pause or foil to pursuing its military goals.
Persons:
Olaf Scholz, Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelensky, acceding, Zelensky, ”, Putin, Donald Trump, Trump, Scholz, “, Putin –, Emmanuel Macron, Donald Tusk, Biden, “ Scholz, Alena Epifanova, Epifanova, Scholz’s, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Ebrahim Noroozi, Mike Waltz, “ ‘, ‘, ’ ” Trump, Kurt Volker, Trump’s, it’s, Oleksandr Gimanov, Volker, he’s, ’ ” Volker, Trump “, ” Volker, Sen, Marco Rubio, Kim Jong Un, elect’s, Putin won’t, “ He’s
Organizations:
CNN, White, Sunday, Trump, German, Foreign Relations, Schloss, Reuters, Ukraine, Economist, Getty, Biden
Locations:
Ukraine, Russia, Russian, Europe, Polish, Moscow, Schloss Bellevue, Berlin, Ukrainian, European, Trump’s Ukraine, Odesa, AFP, “, Afghanistan, China, United States, Beijing, US, Kyiv