Summary
Vladimir Putin told German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that NATO must accept “new territorial realities” in Ukraine as a precondition for peace talks, reiterating claims that NATO’s “aggressive policies” and disregard for Russian security interests caused the war.
Scholz condemned Russia’s aggression and called for troop withdrawal during the call, which has drawn criticism from Kyiv.
Ukrainian President Zelensky warned the talks could ease Putin’s international isolation without altering Russia’s stance.
A Western diplomat suggested Scholz might leverage the call domestically amid Germany’s upcoming snap elections.
Putin is definitely the type to pick a fight and then play the victim. At some point he probably fell on the floor and stamped his feet like a toddler throwing a temper tantrum
The imagined reasons for this war - Russian security concerns will still exist even if Russia is officially given the Ukrainian territories it currently occupies.