Scholz's call to Putin undermines Trump's “peace efforts” – Polish president

Polish President Andrzej Duda has accused German Chancellor Olaf Scholz of trying to exclude US President-elect Donald Trump from negotiations on Ukraine's future. Source: Andrzej Duda in an interview with Bloomberg, as reported by European Pravda Details: The Polish president said Scholz's call to Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin was not intended to push Putin towards negotiating about ending the war, as Scholz himself has claimed.

Quote from Duda: "I believe it was an attempt to bring about a ceasefire in Ukraine before Donald Trump took office." 

Duda believes Scholz is concerned about the possibility of being forced into unfavourable deals with the US under the Trump administration and is trying to be proactive: "What the Germans are most afraid of is that Donald Trump will force them to buy gas from America." At the same time, Duda called the suggestion that the US president-elect would withdraw support for Ukraine ridiculous, recalling the military aid that Kyiv received during his first administration.

Quote from Duda: "I'm convinced that when it comes to the war in Ukraine, he is collecting data and information. At this moment, he is constantly, continuously collecting this information in a very vigilant manner."

Background: On the afternoon of 15 November, it was reported that Scholz had spoken to Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin for the first time in two years.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the call was a "Pandora's box".

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