Zelensky tips war to end ‘sooner’ with Trump in office

The Ukrainian president’s prediction came as he also slammed Germany’s Olaf Scholz who has made his first call to Russian president Vladimir Putin in two years.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and Republican president elect Donald Trump. Pictures: AFP

Ukrainian President Voldymyr Zelensky said Russia’s war against his country will “end sooner” than it otherwise would have done once Donald Trump becomes US president next year.

“It is certain that the war will end sooner with the policies of the team that will now lead the White House. This is their approach, their promise to their citizens,” Zelensky said on Friday in an interview with Ukrainian media outlet Suspilne.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Russia's President Vladimir Putin. Pictures: Various sources / AFP

Zelensky has also responded angrily to Berlin reviving its lines of communication with Moscow, accusing Germany’s Olaf Scholz of playing into the hands of Russian President Vladimir Putin after the chancellor spoke by phone to the Kremlin chief for the first time in almost two years.

The call had opened a “Pandora’s box”, Zelensky said.

“This is exactly what Putin has been wanting for a long time: it is extremely important for him to weaken his isolation,” Zelensky said.

In the call, Scholz “condemned Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and called on President Putin to end it and withdraw troops”, the chancellor’s spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said.

The German leader “urged Russia to show willingness to negotiate with Ukraine with the aim of achieving a just and lasting peace”, Hebestreit added in a statement.

The Kremlin confirmed the call between Scholz and Putin, which it said was held at the invitation of the German side.

Putin had a “detailed and frank exchange of views over the situation in Ukraine” with Scholz, the Kremlin said.

Putin told the German leader that any agreement to end the war in Ukraine “should take into account the security interests of the Russian Federation”, the Kremlin added.

An accord should “proceed from the new territorial realities and, most importantly, address the root causes of the conflict”.

Russia has demanded Ukraine surrender four regions as a precondition for talks, which Kyiv has rejected.

Ukraine contact

Scholz spoke with Zelensky before and after the call with Putin, the chancellor’s spokesman said, but the early warning failed to quell Kyiv’s concerns.

“What is needed are concrete, strong actions that will force him to peace, not persuasion and attempts at appeasement, which he sees as a sign of weakness and uses to his advantage,” Ukraine’s foreign ministry said.

As well as Ukraine, Scholz also notified the countries of the so-called Quad, which includes France, the United States and Britain, a source close to French President Emmanuel Macron said.

The chancellor’s message to Putin was not “co-ordinated” between the allies but the French side expected to be informed on the contents, the source said.

During the hour-long call, Scholz “condemned in particular Russian air strikes against civilian infrastructure in Ukraine”, a German government source said.

Scholz “made it clear that sending North Korean soldiers to Russia for combat missions against Ukraine would lead to a serious escalation and expansion of the conflict,” the source said.

The German and Russian leaders “agreed to remain in contact”, while Berlin would keep its allies updated, the source added.