Russian President Putin held a ‘frank and detailed’ expression of views on Ukraine during a call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday. Putin told Scholz that Russia is ready for talks, but any possible agreements should ‘take into account the security interests of the Russian Federation, proceed from the new territorial realities, and, most importantly, address the root causes of the conflict’. Scholz urged Putin to withdraw from Ukraine and called the involvement of North Korean troops a significant escalation and expansion of the war.