BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his conversation with Vladimir Putin on Friday had given no indication of a shift in the Russian President's thinking on the war in Ukraine but defended his much-criticised decision to phone the Kremlin.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin in what appeared to be the first conversation with the sitting leader of a major Western power in nearly two years.

NATO ally Poland has said "telephone diplomacy cannot replace real support" for Ukraine as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz defended his first call with Russian President Vladimir Putin in roughly two years.