Putin open to contacts with Germany’s Scholz: Kremlin

The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin is open to contacts with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, after the latter expressed willingness to hold direct talks with the Russian leader to end the war in Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made the remarks on Sunday. He, however, said Putin has no phone call scheduled with Scholz. "For now, there are no agreed talks (with Scholz) in the schedule. Putin has been and remains open to contacts," Russia state-owned news agency RIA Novosti quoted Peskov as saying.

Earlier in the day, Scholz said in an interview with Der Tagesspiegel daily that he “will have telephone conversations with Putin again as it is necessary to talk to each other.” The German chancellor said the tone of such conversations "is not impolite," despite "absolutely different" views on the situation in Ukraine, which he described as a “senseless war.” He also said it is important to always bring the conversation back to a particular topic on the way for the world to get out of this “awful state.” He said “the conditions for that are clear - the pullout of Russian troops."

14 dead as Ukraine’s army strikes hospital with US-made missiles: Russia

“A deliberate missile strike on a known active civilian medical facility is, without doubt, a grave war crime by the Kiev regime,” Moscow said.

Scholz and Putin last had a telephone conversation on December 2, 2022. The Russian president said at the time the German and Western line on Ukraine was "destructive" and called on Berlin to rethink its approach.

The United States and Germany have agreed to send their most advanced battle tanks to Ukraine, indicating a broad shift in the mood of Western countries, which had so far avoided sending heavy weaponry to Kiev because of fear of escalation with Russia.

Washington is expected to send at least 30 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, while Germany has decided to send at least one company of Leopard 2 A6 tanks, which usually comprises 14 tanks, and to allow other countries such as Poland to send the same tanks from their own stockpiles to Kiev.

US, Germany poised to send tanks to Ukraine despite Russia's warning

The United States and Germany are set to send their most advanced tanks to Ukraine, indicating a broad shift in the mood of Western countries, which had so far avoided sending critical weaponry to Kiev and escalating with Russia.

Berlin has been hesitant to send the Leopards or to allow other nations that have them in their possession to transfer them to Kiev. However, Germany said earlier in the month that it would agree to do so only if the US provided its own tanks.

Russia launched what its "a special military operation" against Ukraine in late February over the perceived threat of the country joining NATO. Since then, the US and Ukraine's other allies have sent Kiev tens of billions of dollars' worth of weapons, including rocket systems, drones, armored vehicles, tanks, and communication systems. Western countries have also imposed a slew of economic sanctions on Moscow. But they had so far refused to send their top weapons to Kiev. Moscow has previously warned that the delivery of weapons to Kiev would prolong the war.

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