Vladimir Putin said during a phone call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that NATO must accept “new territorial realities” ahead of any talks to end the war he started.

In the first call between the leaders since December 2022, Putin repeated Kremlin rhetoric that the “current crisis” was caused by “many years of aggressive NATO policies aimed at creating an anti-Russian bridgehead on Ukrainian territory,” he said. a lecture from the Kremlin.

Putin also noted how NATO and the West were guilty of “ignoring our country’s interests in security and trampling on the rights of Russian-speaking residents.” Newsweek has contacted the German Foreign Ministry for comment.

All negotiations must take into account Russian interests and “start from new territorial realities, and most importantly, eliminate the root causes of the conflict.”

Scholz is facing political turbulence in Germany, where early elections will take place on February 23. The center-left coalition he leads is facing criticism from Russia-friendly parties that he has not conducted enough diplomacy to end the war.

The Kremlin said the call took place at the request of Berlin, which issued its own statement on the call, and that Scholz had “condemned Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and called on President Putin to end it and withdraw troops.”

However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the call risks opening a “Pandora’s box” that could play into Putin’s hands as he tries to end the international isolation he faces. is confronted.

“It is extremely important for Putin to break his isolation,” Zelensky said in his late-night speech. The Ukrainian leader added that the call to Scholz “made it possible for Russia not to change its policies, to essentially do nothing.”

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry also expressed concern and released a statement saying that “long talks are a tool that Putin has used for more than two decades to achieve his interests.”

“Talking only gives Putin hope of easing international isolation,” the post said, according to a translation. “What is needed are concrete, strong actions that will force him to peace, not persuasion and attempts at reconciliation.”

An unnamed Western diplomat told Reuters that the call “sends a bad signal, especially after Trump’s election,” referring to the US president-elect’s disdain for further aid to Washington and his call for an end to the war .

The unnamed diplomat said Scholz could convey the appeal to his electorate to show that “Putin is not open to anything.”