German leader says it’s necessary to keep talking to Putin

BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says it’s “absolutely necessary” for some leaders to talk directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin amid efforts to end the war in Ukraine. He told German news agency dpa on Friday that he and France’s president will continue to do so. Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron have held several telephone conversations with Putin, separately and together, since Russia’s invasion began in late February. Those contacts have drawn some criticism — including from Poland’s president, who said recently that they achieve nothing and serve only to legitimize the Russian leader. But Scholz said some leaders need to talk to Putin “and it is necessary that they are clear.”