![Germany’s Scholz calls Putin, ending Western isolation over Ukraine](https://cyprus-mail.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-10-23T174003Z_1593551184_RC2HQAA8YST7_RTRMADP_3_RUSSIA-BRICS.jpg)
Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday for the first time in nearly two years as the German leader gears up for a snap election and Europe waits to hear Donald Trump’s plan for ending the war in Ukraine .
In a phone call that was swiftly criticised by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy , Scholz urged Putin to pull his forces out of Ukraine and begin