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(ANSA-AFP) - BERLIN, MAY 26 - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
says he plans to speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin "in
due course", holding out the prospect of resuming contact after
a near-total breakdown in relations since the Ukraine war. "My
last telephone call was some time ago," Scholz told the Koelner
Stadt-Anzeiger newspaper in an interview published Friday. "But
I plan to speak to Putin again in due course." The leaders last
spoke by telephone in early December. During that hour-long
call, Scholz urged Putin to withdraw Moscow's troops from
Ukraine, while the Russian leader accused the West of pursuing
"destructive" policies. Since then, tensions have only escalated
between Moscow and Berlin, particularly over the decision by
Scholz's government in January to allow German-made heavy battle
tanks to be sent to Ukraine. In the interview, Scholz insisted
that his aim remained to "actively support Ukraine", but "at the
same to prevent a direct conflict between NATO and Russia". "And
never to act alone, but in close coordination with our friends
and allies," he said. (ANSA-AFP).
