German Chancellor "Putin has no change of stance on war in Ukraine"

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Thursday local time that there seemed to be no change in Russian President Vladimir Putin's position on the war in Ukraine.

"We have learned that the Russian president's thoughts on war have not changed significantly," Scholz said at Berlin's Sønefeld airport before departing for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where the G20 summit will be held, German media said.

Scholz spoke to Putin for about an hour on the 15th, and their phone conversation has been almost two years since December 2022.

Most Western leaders have not been in direct contact with Putin since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.

In a call, Scholz urged the country to end the war and withdraw its troops, according to the two governments.

But Putin has made clear that he will not withdraw from occupied territories in Ukraine, saying future negotiations must be "based on new territorial realities."