Kyiv, Dec 2 (EFE).- German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stood by his phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Kyiv on Monday to seek “paths that can lead to a just peace,” underscoring, that they wouldn’t accept any settlement with Russia on ending the war without Ukraine’s consent.
“One thing is clear, nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine. I will not allow decisions to be taken over the heads of the Ukrainians,” Scholz said at a t press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
In mid-October, amid growing speculation about the start of a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia, Scholz held his first telephone conversation with Putin in two years.
At the same press conference, Zelenskyy again criticized the communication with the Russian leader, as in previous public statements.
“After one conversation (with Putin) there is a second, a third, a fifth,” the Ukrainian leader told Scholz.
Zelenskyy added that such actions can lead to “a wave of de facto recognition” that “does not strengthen Ukraine.”
“This is my opinion, but as I said, there are many more similarities than differences between us and ,” the Ukrainian president said in a conciliatory tone.
German military aid
The German Chancellor took advantage of his visit to Kyiv to point out that is the second largest donor of military aid to Ukraine after the United States, with 28 billion euros allocated to date.
Scholz explained that the next aid batch (announced weeks earlier) would consist of 650 million euros (681 million dollars) worth of weapons, including an IRIS-T system, launchers for Patriot missiles, and more Gepard tanks equipped with air defense systems.
The aid will arrive in Ukraine with the rest of the equipment in late November.
The package does not include the long-range Taurus missiles that Ukraine has been demanding from for months, which Scholz has refused to send.
“I would like to see more consensus on the Taurus issue,” Zelenskyy, who has publicly expressed his frustration at ’s refusal, told the press conference.
Ukraine has received ballistic missiles from the US, UK, and and has recently been given the green light to use them against military targets inside Russia.
A visit in the midst of an internal crisis
Scholz’s visit to Ukraine comes amid the German election campaign ahead of snap elections on Feb. 23, in which Ukraine policy is one of the central issues.
The Social Democrats, Greens, and Liberals, partners in government until October, are united in their military for Ukraine, a position shared by the Conservatives.
The leader of the latter, Friedrich Merz, has pledged to send Taurus missiles to the Ukrainians if he becomes head of government.
Before their meeting and subsequent press conference, Zelenskyy and Scholz paid tribute to the fallen Ukrainian soldiers at the memorial on Maidan Square in the center of Kyiv.
The two leaders also visited wounded Ukrainian soldiers in a rehabilitation center and a state-of-the-art drone factory, where they could see first-hand some of the advances made by Ukraine’s military industry. EFE
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