Zelensky: We must end this war by next year – Mehr news agency RCO News Agency

According to RCO News Agency, citing Rashatudi, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced after the telephone conversation between German Chancellor Olaf Schultz and Russian President Vladimir Putin that Kiev should make every effort to diplomatically end the war with Russia to end.

He added: We will understand what the Russians want (for peace).

The Ukrainian president previously criticized Shultz’s phone call with Vladimir Putin after two years, saying it undermined efforts to isolate Putin.

On Friday, Schultz called Putin and urged him to participate in the peace talks with Ukraine; Meanwhile, Moscow has always emphasized the resolution of the conflict through negotiations.

Stephen Hebstreit, Schultz’s spokesman, said about the call that the German chancellor condemned Russia’s attack on Ukraine and demanded its end and the withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine.

Zelensky claimed that the call “opened Pandora’s box” by undermining efforts to isolate Putin!

He added: Now there will probably be other conversations and calls and many things will be discussed. And this is exactly what Putin has been waiting for a long time; It is extremely important for him to moderate his isolation.

The President of Ukraine continued: Talks only give Putin hope to moderate his international isolation. What is needed is decisive and firm measures to force him to make peace and not to try to convince and appease him because such measures are only a sign of weakness for him and he uses it for his own benefit!

In the statement he issued about the call between Schultz and Putin, Hebstreit also added that the German chancellor emphasized Berlin’s unwavering determination to support Ukraine in the war against Russia as long as needed.

This call was made at a critical moment in the war in Ukraine. The Ukrainian forces are currently under a lot of pressure, and the victory of Donald Trump in the 2024 US presidential election has put the continuation of Washington’s support for Kiev in an aura of uncertainty.

In response to Shultz’s call with Putin, the Kremlin announced that “Putin discussed the current situation in Ukraine with Shultz in a thorough and frank manner.” According to the Kremlin, Putin told Schultz that any agreement to end the war in Ukraine must take into account the “security interests of the Russian Federation”.