BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin leader’s first publicly announced conversation with the sitting leader of a major Western power in nearly two years. Scholz urged Putin to be open to negotiations with Ukrainehis office said.

The Kremlin leader responded that any peace deal would have to recognize Russia’s territorial gains and security demands, including that kyiv renounce its NATO membership.

Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said Scholz had urged Putin in his hour-long call to withdraw his troops and end the full-scale invasion launched in February 2022. The conflict will reach Tuesday its 1,000th day and the leaders of the Russian opposition in exile, including that of Alexei Navalny. Widow Yulia organized an anti-war rally in Berlin on Sunday.

“The Chancellor urged Russia to be willing to negotiate with Ukraine with the aim of achieving a just and lasting peace and underlined Germany’s unwavering determination to support Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression as long as necessary,” Hebestreit said in a statement.

The new communication between Scholz and Putin – the first since December 2022 – comes at a time of widespread speculation about what the new administration of President-elect Donald Trump will mean for Ukraine. Scholz faces a political crisis at home and has called for a confidence vote next month, with snap elections in February.

Washington is Ukraine’s biggest military supporter, but Trump has done so repeatedly. questioned the amount of aid given to Ukraine. Even though Trump suggested he could fix the problem war quicklyUkraine has ruled out ceding any territory to Moscow in exchange for peace.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized Scholz’s call to Putin, calling it a “Pandora’s box” and one that would only serve to make Russia less isolated.

“Now there can be other conversations, other calls. Just a lot of words. And this is exactly what Putin has wanted for a long time,” Zelensky said in his evening speech. “It is crucial for him to break his isolation. …And engaging in negotiations, ordinary negotiations, will lead to nothing.”

Scholz condemned Russian air raids on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure and warned that deploying North Korean troops to Russia to fight in the war would mark a serious escalation. The United States, South Korea and Ukraine say North Korea sent thousands of soldiers in Russia to support his war against Ukraine.

The Kremlin said Germany had launched the call, during which the leaders had a “detailed and frank exchange of views on the situation in Ukraine.”

Putin blamed “the current crisis” on what he called “NATO’s long-standing aggressive policy aimed at creating an anti-Russian stronghold on Ukrainian territory while ignoring our country’s security interests and trampling on the rights of Russian-speaking residents,” according to a Kremlin statement. said.

Putin also said Russia remained open to resuming peace talks, highlighting conditions he laid out in June, including Kyiv renouncing its NATO candidacy and withdrawing its troops from Ukraine’s four regions. which Moscow illegally annexed in 2022.

“Possible agreements should take into account the interests of the Russian Federation in the field of security, start from new territorial realities and, above all, eliminate the root causes of the conflict,” the statement said.

Putin, who earlier this month said it was up to Western leaders to resume contact with Russia if they wanted to, also highlighted the “unprecedented deterioration” in bilateral relations between Germany and Russia , according to the Kremlin statement, while noting that the leaders also discussed the situation in Russia. the Middle East.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the leaders had a “detailed” and “frank” exchange of opinions but added that “there is no question of convergence of opinions.”

Both parties agreed to stay in touch after the call.

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Associated Press writer Jamey Keaten contributed.