BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin leader’s first publicly announced conversation with the sitting head of a major Western power in nearly two years. Scholz urged Putin to be open to negotiations with Ukraine, his office said.
The Kremlin leader responded that any peace deal should acknowledge Russia's territorial gains and security demands, including that Kyiv renounce joining NATO.
Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said Scholz urged Putin in the hour-long call to withdraw his troops and end the full-scale invasion launched in February 2022. The conflict will reach its 1,000th day on Tuesday, and exiled Russian opposition leaders, including Alexei Navalny's widow, Yulia, have set an antiwar rally for Sunday in Berlin.
“The chancellor urged Russia to be willing to negotiate with Ukraine with the aim of achieving a just and lasting peace and stressed Germany’s unwavering determination to support Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression for as long as necessary,” Hebestreit said in a statement.
The new communication between Scholz and Putin — their first since December 2022 — comes at a time of widespread speculation about what the new administration of President-elect Donald Trump will mean for Ukraine. Scholz faces a political crisis at home and has called for a vote of confidence next month, with an early election in February.
Washington has been Ukraine's biggest military backer, but Trump has repeatedly questioned the amount of aid being given to Ukraine. While Trump has suggested he could settle the war quickly, Ukraine has ruled out giving up any territory to Moscow in return for peace.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized Scholz’s call to Putin, calling it “a Pandora’s box” and would only serve to make Russia less isolated.
“Now there may be other conversations, other calls. Just a lot of words. And this is exactly what Putin has wanted for a long time,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly address. “It is crucial for him to weaken his isolation. ... And to engage in negotiations, ordinary negotiations, that will lead to nothing.”
Scholz condemned Russian air raids on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure and warned that the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia to fight in the war would mark a serious escalation. The U.S., South Korea and Ukraine say North Korea has sent thousands of troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine.
The Kremlin said Germany initiated the call, during which the leaders had a “detailed and frank exchange of opinions on the situation in Ukraine.”
Putin blamed “the current crisis” on what he called NATO’s “long-standing aggressive policy aimed at creating an anti-Russian stronghold on Ukrainian territory while ignoring our country’s security interests and trampling on the rights of Russian-speaking residents,” a Kremlin readout said.
Putin also said Russia remains open to resuming peace talks, pointing to conditions he laid out in June that included Kyiv renouncing its bid to join NATO and withdrawing troops from the four Ukrainian regions that Moscow illegally annexed in 2022.
“Possible agreements should take into account the interests of the Russian Federation in the security sphere, proceed from new territorial realities, and most importantly, eliminate the root causes of the conflict,” the readout said.
Putin, who earlier this month said it's up to Western leaders to resume contact with Russia if they want, also noted the “unprecedented degradation” in bilateral relations between Germany and Russia, the Kremlin statement said, while noting that leaders also discussed the situation in the Middle East.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the leaders had a “detailed" and “frank” exchange of opinions but added that ”there is no talk about convergence of opinions."
The two sides agreed to remain in contact after the call.
Associated Press writer Jamey Keaten contributed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, speaks with the head of Russian state space corporation Roscosmos Yuri Borisov during their meeting at Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside of Moscow, Russia, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks with the head of Russian state space corporation Roscosmos Yuri Borisov during their meeting at Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside of Moscow, Russia, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz attends the Bundestag's Committee of Inquiry into Afghanistan, in Berlin Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (Michael Kappeler/dpa via AP)
LIMA, Peru (AP) — Leaders of Pacific Rim countries including the U.S. and China gathered Friday in Peru for an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting, the first major global summit since U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s election victory.
The annual gathering brings together 21 economies that jointly account for almost two-thirds of global GDP and half the world’s trade, according to organizers.
Outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden joined China’s President Xi Jinping, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto, Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and others as the world wonders how a new U.S. government might upend global dynamics.
Leaders and other representatives will hold closed-door discussions in the morning, following a welcome address by Peru's President Dina Boluarte that focused on the need to promote inclusive growth and reduce informal labor in APEC economies.
“Our objective is to level the playing field, providing all the necessary tools for inclusion in social, financial and commercial spaces,” Boluarte said. “We are convinced that growth starts with inclusion and that this is only possible through the empowerment of the citizenry that is the motor of our economies.”
APEC is bound to be one of Biden's last global summits before leaving office, and White House officials insist that his attendance as well as his subsequent visit to Brazil for the Group of 20 meeting next week will be substantive, with talks to focus on climate issues, global infrastructure, counter-narcotic efforts. For the first time since last year’s APEC forum, Biden will meet one-on-one with Chinese President Xi on Saturday. He will also meet with South Korea’s Yoon Suk Yeol, Japan’s Shigeru Ishiba and Peru’s Boluarte.
The officials say Biden also will use the summits to press allies to keep up support for Ukraine as it tries to fend off Russia’s invasion and persist in negotiating an end to Israel's wars in Lebanon and Gaza.
Still, analysts say he will be overshadowed at APEC by Xi. On Friday, Xi will meet with South Korea's Yoon, whose office said the two are expected to discuss economic cooperation and cultural exchanges, as well as the security situation on the Korean Peninsula.
Xi on Thursday night inaugurated a $1.3 billion megaport that is perhaps the clearest sign of Latin America’s ongoing reorientation in the region.
The Chancay port will shave 10 days off shipping times to China, which has seen trade with South America boom over the past two decades. Peru’s economy minister in June said neighboring nations are actively modifying their supply chains to benefit from the port, in which total investment will top $3.5 billion.
Ahead of the inauguration at the port, 60 kilometers (37 miles) north of Lima, locals told The Associated Press that the development hasn't buoyed their economic prospects. On the contrary, they said the port has impaired their ability to fish, threatening their livelihoods.
Discontent has been brewing in the middle-class San Borja neighborhood outside Lima’s Convention Center, where the APEC conference is sited. Metal barriers and police equipped with riot gear surround the perimeter where, for the past two days, anti-government protesters angry about a recent spate of gang-fueled violence have shouted slogans demanding that their wildly unpopular president take action against the crime wave.
The rallies have devolved into scuffles with police, who used batons to drive away the more aggressive protesters on Thursday. As APEC leaders gathered on Friday, a few dozen protesters were stopped by security barricades several blocks from the convention center. Vastly outnumbered by riot police, they chanted against government corruption and denounced Boluarte for the deaths of dozens of protesters in the wake of her predecessor’s ouster.
“Why would we want APEC here when the investment is just going to line their pockets?” Maria Melendez, a 48-year-old tour guide said of corrupt government officials. “We’re hungry and they’re over there talking about billions of dollars. How is that going to help us?”
Mia Rivera, 58, held a portrait of the ousted president, Pedro Castillo, and said she was discouraged by the low turnout. She said the heavy police presence and memory of the violent crackdown against demonstrators in 2022 deterred many of her friends from marching this week.
In the afternoon, APEC leaders and representatives will meet with members of the group's business advisory council. The council met Wednesday and called on APEC economies to boost inclusive growth and prioritize the needs of micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises, particularly those led by women and Indigenous entrepreneurs.
“While the global economy remains resilient, APEC economies are grappling with persistent inflation, economic disparities, high interest rates and the urgent need to increase investments for a green, climate-resilient future,” said council chairwoman Julia Torreblanca.
Police officers block anti-government protesters from making their way to Congress, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima, Peru, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, left, and Peru's President Dina Boluarte pose for photos on the steps of the government palace during a welcoming ceremony at the government palace in Lima, Peru, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Police detain an anti-government protester on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima, Peru, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Children walk around in the Senor de la Soledad shantytown near a Chinese-funded port in Chancay, Peru, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
President Joe Biden greets Peru's Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzen as he arrives at Jorge Chavez International Airport in Lima, Peru, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, to attend the APEC Summit. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
An anti-government protester holds a sign during a demonstration on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima, Peru, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Peru's President Dina Boluarte, right, and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands after a ceremony to virtually inaugurate a Chinese-funded port in the city of Chancay, at the government palace in Lima, Peru, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
A Peruvian honor guard stand in formation at the end of a welcoming ceremony for Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto at the government palace in Lima, Peru, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
U.S. President Joe Biden deplanes in Lima, Peru, to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, in Lima, Peru, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo)
Air Force members fix the red carpet before the arrival of Vietnam's President Luong Cuong in Lima, Peru, for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo)
Vietnam's President Luong Cuong, left, and Peru's President Dina Boluarte pose for photos on the steps of the government palace in Lima, Peru, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and Peru's Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzen, wave on the airport tarmac after Xi's arrival to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, in Lima, Peru, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo)
