Scholz, Putin hold first call in almost 2 years

BERLIN: German chancellor Olaf Scholz and Russian president Vladimir Putin spoke on the phone today for the first time in almost two years, a German government source told AFP.

Scholz stayed on the line with the Russian leader “for an hour”, the source said, without revealing the content of the conversation.

It was the first time the two have spoken since December 2022, which was the last known phone call between the Kremlin chief and the leader of a major western country.

Putin has not spoken to most Nato and western leaders since 2022, when the EU and the US imposed massive sanctions on Russia for launching its shock Ukraine offensive.

Within the Nato bloc, Putin maintains contact with Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban – who is critical of western policy on Russia – and with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The call between the German and Russian leaders comes at a critical juncture in the Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Kyiv’s forces are under increasing pressure as the war, which was launched by Russia in February 2022, heads into its third winter.

Germany has been one of Ukraine’s biggest military supporters, second only to the US in the aid it has sent to Kyiv.

But the election of Donald Trump to the White House, who criticised aid to Ukraine on the campaign trail, has cast doubt over Washington’s continued support.