Mr. Scholz’s call with Putin did not go down well in Kyiv.

Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, said he open a “Pandora’s box”while the Foreign Office said it would give Putin hope of “relieving his international isolation”.

“What is needed are concrete and strong actions that will force him to peace, and not persuasion and attempts at appeasement, which he considers a sign of weakness and which he uses to his advantage” , said a spokesperson.

Finland, which joined NATO in 2023also criticized Mr. Scholz’s call.

Elina Valtonen, Finnish Foreign Minister, said: “The most important thing is that we understand that we must not once again compete for the Kremlin’s attention. It will do no good if European heads of state make coordinated or uncoordinated phone calls with Putin,” she told ARD Europe magazine.

However, Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada, said he was in favor of opening a dialogue.

“We all understand how important it is to see an end to violence in Ukraine and conflicts around the world,” he told Bloomberg at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru.

“This requires a certain level of engagement with counterparts who, in many cases, we do not agree with. »

During the call, Mr. Scholz asked Putin to “negotiate with Ukraine” in order to restore a “just and lasting peace,” a German government spokesperson said.

But he said the call showed him that Putin’s attitude toward the war had hardly changed.