German Chancellor Olaf Scholz once again defended his last phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, telling the ZDF television channel that discussions with him are "never pleasant", as quoted by Focus.
Scholz noted that he had spoken with the Kremlin leader several times through the end of 2022.
"And these were never pleasant conversations, but they need to be talked about, if only to hear this," explained the German chancellor.
In his words, there are people in Germany who believe that "a simple phone call will bring peace the next day. Of course not."
Scholz added that in his last telephone conversation with Putin "all arguments were repeated" and for him this was extremely important.
"That is: Mr. Putin, do not expect us to reduce our support. You must find a way out of this war. You must stop your attacks and withdraw your troops," assured Scholz.
On November 15, it became known that Scholz had spoken with Putin for the first time in two years.