Vladimir Putin appears to believe he made no mistake in invading Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Wednesday after a 90-minute phone call with the Russian president. “Unfortunately, I can’t tell you that the impression has grown that it was a mistake to start this war,” Soltz told reporters a day after his exchange with Putin. “And there was no indication that new attitudes are emerging,” the German leader added at a joint press conference with his Georgian counterpart, Irakli Garibashvili. In Tuesday’s call with the Russian leader, Solz urged Putin to seek a diplomatic solution “based on a ceasefire, the complete withdrawal of Russian forces and respect for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.” The withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine was the only way for “peace to have a chance in the region,” Scholz said on Wednesday.
The prospects for peace are “minimal”.
While Putin’s positions do not appear to have shifted, the German chancellor said it was necessary to remain in conversation with the Russian leader. “It’s only right that we talk to each other and say what there is to say about this,” Scholz said. In another phone call with Putin on Wednesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the two discussed efforts to overcome “obstacles” still related to Russia’s food and fertilizer exports. But prospects for peace in Ukraine are “slim” for now, the UN chief lamented after the call, warning that it would be “naive” to believe that sufficient progress has been made towards a quick end to the war. “I have the feeling that we are still very far from peace. I would be lying if I said it could happen soon,” Guterres told a news conference. “I have no illusions. at the moment the chances of a peace deal are slim,” he added, noting that even a ceasefire was “out of sight”. Despite his grim assessment of the war that has been raging since Russia invaded its neighbor in late February, Guterres stressed that he was in touch with both sides and expressed hope that “one day it will be possible to go to a higher level discussion”. In the meantime, discussions continue on an export agreement “and its extension and possible expansion”. A two-part deal — allowing the flow of both Ukraine’s war-blocked grain exports and Russia’s food and fertilizer exports — was signed by the UN and Turkey in July and is scheduled to last 120 days. Guterres said there is discussion about the possibility of Russian ammonia exports through the Black Sea. Ammonia, a key component of fertilizer, is produced by combining nitrogen from the air with hydrogen derived from natural gas. Several European fertilizer manufacturers have stopped producing ammonia due to the sharp increase in natural gas prices. Guterres warned that the fertilizer crisis has reached a “dramatic” level, reiterating his fears of global food shortages next year. He said he also spoke with Putin about prisoners of war and the situation at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
