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.

Germany's chancellor and Russia's president have spoken directly for the first time since late 2022, according to a government spokesperson. This follows soon after Donald Trump's US election win.

Olaf Scholz, Germany's least popular chancellor on record, is facing growing calls within his Social Democrats (SPD) to step aside and let his Defence Minister Boris Pistorius instead lead the centre-left party into next year's federal election.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday shrugged off questions about whether he would reconsider running as his party's chancellor candidate in the upcoming elections, amid mounting speculation about his political future.