TEHRAN, Jun. 18 (MNA) – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said it is “absolutely necessary” for some leaders to talk directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin, amid efforts to end war in Ukraine and 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 military operation in Ukraine began on February 24, the Associated Press reported.

 “It is absolutely necessary to speak to Putin, and I will continue to do so, as the French president will also,” Scholz told German news agency DPA, a day after he, Macron and the leaders of Italy and Romania held talks with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.

“There are some countries needed, and some leaders needed, that speak to him and it is necessary that they are clear.”

 “We will have to find a common approach, but I’m quite optimistic that we will be able to manage this,” Scholz said.

MA/PR