Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz have spoken directly for the first time since 2022 – a move that has prompted anger from Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Friday 15 November 2024 19:48, UK
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Apple has reportedly deleted a US-funded news app from the Russian App Store.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s (RFE/RL) Russian-language outlet, Radio Svoboda, said today it has been taken off the app, at the request of Moscow’s communications regulator Roskomnadzor.
One of RFE/RL’s local websites in Russia, said Apple had notified Radio Svoboda, which means “freedom” in Russian, that the app was being deleted.
Russia has put dozens of opposition media websites on blacklists and banned several foreign social-media platforms under Vladimir Putin, as a way to limit access to independent media.
The country often accuses blocked sites of false reporting.
Russia has advised all its citizens to leave a breakaway Georgian region after protesters stormed the parliament building.
Issuing the warning earlier this afternoon, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said a “crisis situation” had developed in its “neighbouring friendly Abkhazia” and that all Russians in the region should leave.
She said citizens who were planning to travel to Abkhazia – which broke away from Georgia during wars in the early 1990s – should refrain from doing so.
Protesters in Russian-backed Abkhazia were demanding the resignation of its leader over an unpopular investment agreement with Moscow.
In the capital, Sukhumi, protesters used a truck to smash through the metal gates surrounding parliament, then climbed through windows after wrenching off metal bars.
Emergency services said at least nine people were taken to hospital.
Temur Gulia, an opposition leader, told the Reuters news agency that protesters initially demanded the government scrap the investment agreement – which critics feared would clear the way for wealthy Russian individuals and businesses to buy up property in the Black Sea region, pricing out locals.
But said they have now gone further and want to oust President Aslan Bzhania.
The presidential administration said in a statement that authorities were preparing to withdraw the investment agreement.
Olesya Vartanyan, an independent regional expert, said the crisis was the culmination of mounting Russian pressure to get more from Abkhazia in return for its financial support.
The chancellor of Austria has said “no home will go cold” as Russia’s Gazprom is expected to cut off its natural gas supply to the country from tomorrow.
In a notice published on the central European gas hub platform, Austrian oil and gas company OMV said it had been informed by Gazprom that the Russian gas producer would reduce its deliveries of natural gas to zero from 5am tomorrow morning.
The country is one of the few European states still dependent on Russian gas, as others reduced imports following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Chancellor Karl Nehammer said today that the decision by Gazprom has been long expected since the start of the war and the country has been “preparing for this situation”.
The cut-off follows OMV’s announcement that it would stop paying for Gazprom gas to its Austrian arm to offset a €230m (£192m) arbitration award it won over an earlier cut-off of gas to its German subsidiary.
Nehammer said the country’s underground gas storage is full and that it has alternative, non-Russia supplies.
“Austria cannot be blackmailed,” he said, adding: “No home will go cold.”
Representatives for OMV and Gazprom have not yet officially commented.
By Siobhan Robbins, Europe correspondent
They haven’t spoken in nearly two years – so today’s call between the German chancellor and Vladimir Putin is fascinating in its timing.
Shortly after the pair hung up, lines from the German camp quickly underlined that Olaf Scholz had condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and called on Putin to withdraw troops and put an end to fighting.
“The Federal Chancellor urged Russia’s willingness to negotiate with Ukraine with the aim of achieving a just and lasting peace and emphasised Germany’s unwavering determination to keep Ukraine in the peace process,” a government spokesman said in a statement confirming the conversation.
The call between the two leaders lasted around an hour, with Scholz also condemning the Russian air strikes on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine and saying the deployment of North Korean soldiers to fight against Ukraine would lead to a serious escalation of the conflict.
The strong words are not a surprise.
Once one of Russia’s key economic partners, relations between the two countries dramatically deteriorated following the outbreak of the war in 2022.
Germany is now one of Ukraine’s main supporters in terms of aid and weapons.
But that is perhaps not the only motivation behind the frank conversation.
Scholz’s government has crumbled, a general election is expected in February and if the polls are right, he is likely to lose his job as chancellor.
Warming up for the political battle, in a speech this week he depicted himself as the safe choice for voters, suggesting his steady leadership had helped avoid an escalation of war in Europe.
And what better way to emphasise he is the best person to deal with the Russian president than a well-timed call with him.
Trump 2.0 adds to pressure
But next year’s vote isn’t the only ticking clock facing the chancellor.
Donald Trump’s return to the White House also adds to the pressure.
The president-elect has claimed he will end the war quickly, which many in Europe fear could result in a bad deal for Ukraine.
On Tuesday, foreign ministers from Poland, Germany, France, the UK and Italy will meet to discuss the war in Ukraine, Trump’s election and Europe’s political future.
With so much uncertainty around America’s commitment to NATO and Ukraine come January, it’s prudent that the chancellor of Europe’s biggest economic power should make a call to Moscow and ensure he’s central to conversations with Russia.
Today, Scholz is said to have reaffirmed his unwavering support for Kyiv, warning Putin that he couldn’t “count on time being on his side” and urging him to enter serious negotiations.
The Kremlin also released its own version of the chat, blaming the crisis on what it described as NATO’s long-standing “aggressive policy” which it claims ignores Moscow’s security and the rights of Russian-speaking residents.
Russia also didn’t miss the opportunity to put the boot into Germany by blaming the decline in their relations on “the unfriendly course of the German authorities”.
There was however no mention of the allegations of sabotage, cyber-attack and espionage which Moscow is accused of carrying out by the aforementioned “unfriendly” German officials.
At the end of the conversation, the leaders agreed to remain in touch.
We are told Scholz also spoke to Volodymyr Zelenskyy before and after the conversation.
Far from overjoyed, Zelenskyy reportedly said the call would help the Russian leader by reducing his isolation and ultimately keep the war in Ukraine going, according to Reuters quoting a source in the president’s office.
The concern is understandable.
Russia is making ground on the battlefield and Kyiv’s success is reliant on continued support from both the US and Germany; both countries whose leadership is now in flux.
In his evening address, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s call with Vladimir Putin has opened “Pandora’s box”.
He said the conversation between the two leaders undermined efforts to isolate the Russian leader.
“Now there may be other conversations, other calls. Just a lot of words,” Zelenskyy said.
“And this is exactly what Putin has long wanted: It is extremely important for him to weaken his isolation.”
Following the phone call, the Kremlin said Moscow was open to new peace talks and pointed to Putin’s earlier proposal that Kyiv should cede territory and back off its plans to join NATO.
But with the conflict reaching its 1,000th day next week, Zelenskyy said this evening there will be “no new Minsk Agreement” (two ceasefire/peace agreements both sides agreed to back in 2014 and again in 2015) with Ukraine wanting “fair peace”.
In a statement, German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said Scholz condemned “Russia’s war of aggression” during the call, calling on Putin to end it by withdrawing troops.
“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,” the spokesman said.
The Ukrainian foreign ministry has said “strong actions, not phone calls” are needed to push the Russian president “towards peace”.
Reacting to today’s phone call between German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Vladimir Putin, foreign ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi said calls “bring no additional value” on the path towards peace, but are instead used by Putin to “achieve his interests”.
The hour-long call between the two leaders was the first direct contact they have had since 2022.
The Kremlin claimed that it came about “at the initiative of the German side” and during the call, Putin said he was willing to resume negotiations over a peace deal.
Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov added that despite “deep disagreements” between the two, “the very fact of the dialogue is extremely positive”.
Hitting back at the claims, Mr Tykhyi said Putin sees “attempts at appeasement as a sign of weakness”.
We’re starting to see more reaction to the news of today’s phone call between German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Vladimir Putin, which has prompted a range of responses.
Thorsten Benner, director of the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPI) in Berlin, said he did not quite see “what the big deal or danger of this call” would be.
Referring to Donald Trump’s recent contact with the Russian president, he added: “Unless of course you insist that Trump & Musk should be the only ones talking to Putin.”
Others were more critical of the telephone conversation, including Nicolas Tenzer, a French civil servant and chairman of the Center for Study and Reflection for Political Action think-tank.
He said the call between Scholz and “war criminal Putin” was unacceptable for two reasons.
“1. the only people authorized to talk to this guy are the judges of the International Criminal Court; 2. once again, Germany is dividing Europe and the Allies,” he wrote.
Daniel Szeligowski is the head of the Eastern Europe programme and senior research fellow on Ukraine at the Polish Institute of International Affairs.
He suggested Scholz’s decision to speak to Putin was linked in part to the forthcoming election in Germany.
This echoed the views of Janis Kluge, deputy head of the Eastern Europe and Eurasia division at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.
“Scholz calls Putin from a position of weakness,” he said, adding that “Germany is insecure and vulnerable because of Trump” and saying “Russia is moving faster than ever in Ukraine”.
Various commentators have suggested over the last week that contrary to widespread fears, Ukraine’s leaders may actually welcome the election of Donald Trump because he is considered better placed to achieve a negotiated settlement to the war.
A new interview Volodomyr Zelenskyy has conducted with Ukrainian radio would appear to go some way towards supporting this notion, with the Ukrainian leader discussing his recent talks with the US president-elect.
“He [Trump] has heard the basis on which we stand. I have not heard anything against our position,” the president said, according to Suspilne media.
Asked whether Trump made a demand for Ukraine to participate in negotiations with Russia, Zelenskyy answered: “We are an independent country.
“And we, during this war, and our people, and I personally are in negotiations with the United States, and with Trump, and with Biden, and with European leaders – proved that the rhetoric of ‘Sit and listen’ does not work with us.”
However, he added that under the Trump administration, “the war will end faster”.
“It is very important for us to have a just peace, so that we do not feel that we have lost our best because of the injustice that has been imposed on you,” he said.
“The war will end, but there is no exact date.
“Certainly, with the policies of this team that will now lead the White House, the war will end sooner.
“This is their approach, their promise to their society, and it is also very important to them.”
We have yet to hear the full interview, so it remains unclear whether Zelenskyy considers a faster resolution to the war as a definitively good outcome, which many analysts would undoubtedly suggest would depend on the terms of any agreement.
The Kremlin has also now confirmed the call between Vladimir Putin and Olaf Scholz, saying it took place “at the initiative of the German side”.
“A detailed and frank exchange of views on the situation in Ukraine was held,” a statement said.
“Vladimir Putin recalled that the current crisis was a direct result of NATO’s long-standing aggressive policy aimed at creating an anti-Russian bridgehead on Ukrainian territory while ignoring our country’s interests in the field of security and trampling on the rights of Russian-speaking residents.”
It also claimed that Putin was willing to resume negotiations over a peace deal.
“As for the prospects for a political and diplomatic settlement of the conflict, the Russian president noted that the Russian side has never refused and remains open to resuming negotiations that were interrupted by the Kyiv regime,” it said.
It should be noted at this point that a number of analysts have questioned the credibility of Putin’s claims that he is willing to negotiate.
The Institute for the Study of War said in July: “The Kremlin routinely feigns interest in meaningful negotiations as part of a longstanding information operation that aims to persuade the West to make concessions on Ukrainian territorial integrity and sovereignty.”
The Kremlin statement issued today added that the current state of Russian-German relations was also discussed by the two leaders during the call.
“Vladimir Putin noted their unprecedented degradation in all areas as a consequence of the unfriendly course of the German authorities,” it said.
“It was emphasised that Russia has always strictly fulfilled its treaty and contractual obligations in the energy sector and is ready for mutually beneficial cooperation if there is interest in this from the German side.”
We are now seeing confirmation of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s call with Vladimir Putin today – along with some interesting briefings from the office of Ukraine’s president.
According to a source in Volodomyr Zelenskyy’s office, he was informed in advance of Scholz’s plan to hold the conversation with Putin.
And, the source added, Zelenskyy told the German leader that his call would “help the Russian president by reducing his isolation and ultimately keep the war in Ukraine going”.
Again, we’ll bring you more reaction to this story as we get it.
Meanwhile, Scholz has posted a photo online of him presumably during the call.
“I spoke to President Putin on the phone and called on him to end Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and to withdraw its troops,” he said.
“Russia must show a willingness to negotiate with Ukraine – with the aim of achieving a just and lasting peace.”
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