Putin and Scholz

German chancellor Olaf Scholz has defended his recent phone call to Vladimir Putin, but admitted what the Russian president had to say was not “good news”.

The two leaders spoke for an hour for the first time in almost two years on Friday, where Scholz tried to encourage the Russian president to end the war in Ukraine.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Scholz said: “It was important to tell [Putin] that he cannot count on support from Germany, Europe and many others in the world waning.

“The conversation was very detailed but continued to a recognition that little has changed in the Russian president’s views – and that is not good news.”

His defence came after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy slammed their conversation.

He said it had opened a “Pandora’s box”, adding: “Now there may be other conversations, other calls. Just a lot of........

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