German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his conversation with Vladimir Putin on Friday had given no indication of a shift in the Russian President's thinking on the war in Ukraine but defended his much-criticised decision to phone the Kremlin.

Germany's government says that Chancellor Olaf Scholz had a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the first such conversation in two years.

Support for Chancellor Olaf Scholz to lead Germany’s Social Democrats into an early election is starting to crumble within his own ranks, according to people familiar with the situation.