German Chancellor Scholz calls Putin for first time in nearly two years

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called Vladimir Putin for the first time since December 2022 in a phone call that lasted for about an hour, Reuters reported on Friday, citing a German government source.

Scholz indicated in October that he would be willing to hold talks with Putin to discuss bringing about a just peace in Ukraine, German daily newspaper Die Rheinische Post reported.

The Kremlin has not yet commented on the call, which was first reported by Bloomberg sources earlier on Friday.

Addressing the Bundestag, the lower house of the German parliament, on 16 October, ahead of an upcoming summit of EU leaders, Scholz reminded the chamber that Ukraine had consented to Russia taking part in a second Summit on Peace in Ukraine, which Kyiv has said it plans to convene by the end of the year.

“If we are asked whether we too will speak to the Russian president, it is only right, therefore, that we say yes, that is the case,” Scholz said, though he stressed that being willing to engage with Putin did not mean abandoning some clear principles, namely never making decisions about Ukraine without Ukraine.