Merz explained his reluctance to talk to Putin

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said that he is not going to call Russian President Vladimir Putin yet due to fears that this could be followed by an escalation in Ukraine.

He said that after the visit of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to Moscow last summer, as well as Putin's telephone conversation with former Chancellor Olaf Scholz, fighting allegedly intensified.

"So if this is the result of such phone calls, I would refrain from them for a long time," the Suddeutsche Zeitung newspaper quoted Merz as saying on June 27.

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On June 20, Sarah Wagenknecht, leader of the German Sarah Wagenknecht Union for Reason and Justice party, called on Merz to call Putin and make an offer to come to Moscow. This statement was made against the background of Putin's comment on a question from the German agency DPA about a possible dialogue with the German Chancellor. The head of state then replied that Moscow would not give up contacts if Merz wanted to resume dialogue.