Scholz plans to hold call with Putin, first in two years - media

Germany’s Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz intends to hold in November the first phone call in two years with the head of the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin.

This was reported by Die Zeit with reference to German government sources, Ukrinform saw.

"German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) seeks to get into direct contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time in almost two years. Die Zeit learned about this from government circles. The possibility of a phone call on the eve of the G20 meeting in Brazil in November is being considered. However, the request for a call is yet to be issued," the report says.

As the publication notes, if such a call takes place, the German chancellor would become the first head of government from the countries that support Ukraine the most to resume direct contact with Putin. The last phone call between Scholz and Putin took place in December 2022. U.S. President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, and former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson last spoke directly to Putin in 2022.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, U.S. President Joe Biden will chair the meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which will take place in Germany on October 12.