Scholz says plans to speak to Putin 'in due course'

(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).

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