Zelensky on Scholz’s call with Putin: There will be no Minsk-3, what we need is real peace

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, commenting on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, said there would not be a Minsk-3 deal because Ukraine needs real peace.

That’s according to the president’s address to the nation, released on Friday, Ukrinform reports.

“Chancellor Scholz told me that he is going to call Putin. Olaf's call, in my opinion, is Pandora's box. 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: it is crucial for him to weaken his isolation. Russia's isolation. And to engage in negotiations, ordinary negotiations, that will lead to nothing. As he has been doing for decades. This allowed Russia to change nothing in its policy, to do nothing substantial, and ultimately it led to this war. We understand all these challenges now. We know how to act. And we want to warn everyone: there will be no Minsk-3; what we need is real peace,” said the president.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had a phone call with Vladimir Putin, condemning the ongoing war on Ukraine.

He let Putin know that Germany sees the deployment of North Korean troops to engage in combat against the Ukrainian forces would constitute major escalation and expansion of conflict.

Scholz called on Putin to pull all forces from Ukraine, recalling that Russia has failed to achieve any of the intended objectives and urging Russia to express readiness for serious negotiations to achieve a just and lasting peace.

He warned Putin against harboring hopes that Western support for Ukraine would eventually wane as it is designed for the long term.