Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gave support to the decision by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to speak directly with Vladimir Putin on Friday, saying that ending the war will require some engagement with Russia’s president.

Germany's government says that Chancellor Olaf Scholz had a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the first such conversation in two years.

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.