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German Chancellor says no indication Putin has modified stance on Ukraine as UN chief says prospects for peace are ‘minimal’.
Vladimir Putin appears to consider he didn’t commit a mistake by launching an invasion of Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz mentioned on Wednesday after a 90-minute-long phone name with the Russian president.
“Sadly, I can not let you know that the impression has grown that it was a mistake to start this struggle,” Scholz instructed journalists a day after his change with Putin.
“And there was no indication that new attitudes are rising,” the German chief added at a joint information convention along with his Georgian counterpart, Irakli Garibashvili.
In Tuesday’s name with the Russian chief, Scholz urged Putin to hunt a diplomatic answer “based mostly on a ceasefire, an entire withdrawal of Russian forces and respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Ukraine”.
The exit of Russian troops from Ukraine was the one method for “peace to have an opportunity within the area”, Scholz mentioned on Wednesday.
Prospects for peace ‘minimal’
Whereas Putin’s positions didn’t seem to have shifted, the German chancellor mentioned it was mandatory to stay in dialog with the Russian chief.
“It’s proper to talk with one another and to say what there’s to say on this topic,” Scholz mentioned.
In one other telephone name with Putin on Wednesday, UN Secretary-Normal Antonio Guterres mentioned the 2 spoke about efforts to beat “obstacles” that stay associated to Russia’s meals and fertiliser exports.
However prospects for peace in Ukraine are “minimal” at current, the United Nations chief lamented after the decision, warning that it will be “naive” to consider there was adequate progress in direction of a speedy finish to the struggle.
“I’ve the sensation we’re nonetheless far-off from peace. I might be mendacity if I might say it may occur quickly,” Guterres instructed a information convention.
“I’ve no phantasm; at this time second the possibilities of a peace deal are minimal,” he added, noting that even a ceasefire is “not in sight”.
Regardless of his bleak evaluation of the struggle that has raged since Russia invaded its neighbour in late February, Guterres burdened he was sustaining contact with either side and expressed hope that “at some point it will likely be doable to go to the next stage of dialogue”.
Within the meantime, talks proceed about an exports deal “and its extension and its doable enlargement”.
A two-part settlement — permitting each the circulate of Ukraine’s grain exports blocked by the struggle and Russia’s meals and fertiliser exports — was brokered by the UN and Turkey in July and is scheduled to final 120 days.
Guterres mentioned there’s dialogue about the opportunity of Russian ammonia exports by the Black Sea.
Ammonia, a key fertiliser ingredient, is produced by combining nitrogen from the air with hydrogen derived from pure gasoline.
A number of European fertiliser producers have stopped producing ammonia due to hovering gasoline costs.
Guterres warned the fertiliser disaster has reached a “dramatic” stage, repeating his fears of a worldwide meals scarcity subsequent 12 months.
He mentioned he additionally spoke with Putin about prisoners of struggle and the state of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear energy plant.
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