Donald Trump calls Scholz – also with Putin?

Against the backdrop of Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, US President-elect Donald Trump spoke in a telephone conversation with Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) about a “return of peace” in Europe. Trump and Scholz “agreed” to work towards this, said government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit in Berlin. The Kremlin, for its part, rejected a report on Monday about an alleged phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump.

Federal Chancellor Scholz and Trump have underlined their willingness to provide further support for Ukraine, government spokesman Hebestreit explained. In the ARD program “Caren Miosga” on Sunday evening, Scholz had already announced an imminent conversation with Putin.

The American newspaper “Washington Post” had previously reported that Trump had already warned Putin during a phone call on Thursday about an escalation of the war in Ukraine. The future US President is said to have reminded the Kremlin boss of the significant US military presence in Europe. Accordingly, both politicians expressed their interest in further talks to discuss an early “settlement of the Ukraine war”.

While the Kremlin denied the phone call, Trump’s spokesman Steven Cheung declined to comment on the Washington Post report. He wrote to the AFP news agency that he “does not comment on private conversations between President Trump and other heads of state and government.” A high-ranking Ukrainian government official also said that Kiev was “not informed” about a phone call between Putin and Trump.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov went even further: He not only denied the phone call, but also stated that there were currently no preparations for Putin to talk to Trump or Scholz.

Trump won the US presidential election with a clear majority on Tuesday. During the election campaign, he claimed that he could end the Ukraine war within 24 hours – possibly before he took office on January 20th. However, he never explained how he wanted to accomplish this. At the same time, the Republican resolutely opposed the continued support of Ukraine with billions of dollars from the USA.

The quick solution promised by Trump could mean that Ukraine would have to cede part of its territory to Russia. Moscow even calls the cession of large areas of Ukraine to Russia a prerequisite for peace negotiations. The government in Kyiv has firmly rejected this.

Under Democratic President Joe Biden, the US is currently Ukraine’s main backer in the war started by Russia in February 2022. Recently, Ukraine has come under increasing pressure due to further losses of territory on the front and a shortage of armaments and soldiers.

Meanwhile, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell insisted during a visit to the northern Ukrainian region of Chernihiv that Russia pays compensation and that Russian war crimes be punished. “This is a warning to those who say that this war should stop and therefore we should end it as quickly as possible, no matter how,” said Borrell – apparently alluding to Trump and his statements about Ukraine.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot warned against prejudging Trump’s Ukraine policy. France is ready to work “ambitiously” with the new US government, Barrot said in Paris.

Meanwhile, on Monday night, Russia again attacked the south of Ukraine. According to regional governor Vitaly Kim, several residential buildings were bombed in Mykolaiv. Five people were killed. According to Governor Ivan Fedorov, a man was killed and 18 other people were injured, including five minors, in Zaporizhzhia, around 300 kilometers further east.

Russia reported on Monday that it had foiled a Ukrainian attempt to divert a Russian military helicopter and recruit its pilots. The Russian secret service FSB did not say when the incident occurred. However, information obtained during the operation made it possible to attack Ukrainian positions, it said.