Scholz's call to Putin lasted an hour – Spiegel

The first conversation in two years between German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Russian leader Vladimir Putin – initiated by Scholz – took place in close coordination with other G7 countries and lasted about an hour.

Source: Spiegel, citing its sources, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Spiegel reported that the conversation was initiated by Olaf Scholz, who talked to Putin for about an hour.

Preparations for the call were said to have taken "weeks" and were made in close coordination with key international partners – the US, UK, France and other G7 countries.

In particular, it was agreed that the conversation should take place after the US elections but before the G20 summit in Brazil, where Scholz is travelling on Sunday. Russia will be represented by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

In addition to the official report of the conversation, government sources revealed Scholz had specifically condemned Russia's attacks on Ukraine's civilian infrastructure and said that the involvement of North Korean soldiers in the fighting on Russia's side could lead to a serious escalation and expansion of the war.

Background:

• It was reported that Scholz spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy before speaking with Putin and planned to call him after the call with Putin.
• Olaf Scholz had repeatedly stressed that he was ready to talk to Putin about possible solutions to end Russia's aggression against Ukraine. Recently, the German Chancellor spoke of his readiness to hold talks with the Russian leader "soon".

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