German rivals say Scholz's phone call handed Putin 'propaganda win'

Political rivals of Germany's embattled leader Olaf Scholz argued on Saturday that his phone call with Vladimir Putin on the Ukraine war had handed a "propaganda win" to the Russian president.

Scholz and the Kremlin chief spoke on Friday for the first time in almost two years.

The German chancellor condemned the war and called for both peace talks and a troop withdrawal, according to his office.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky quickly accused Scholz of playing into the hands of Putin, who has been shunned by Western leaders, and said the call had opened a "Pandora's Box".

In Germany -- where Scholz faces federal elections in February after his three-party coalition collapsed last week -- the conservative opposition CDU voiced similar criticism of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) chancellor.

Putin will "understand the fact that Scholz called him as a sign of weakness rather than strength", CDU foreign policy spokesman Juergen Hardt told Deutschlandfunk radio.

He accused Scholz of having helped Putin to a "propaganda win" for German domestic political reasons, pointing out that he had apparently "not made any concrete new proposal or even issued an ultimatum".

Germany has been Ukraine's second biggest supplier of weapons after the United States but has refrained from sending it long-range weapons that could strike deep inside Russia to avoid further escalating the conflict.

CDU politician Johann Wadephul also argued in comments to AFP that, as elections loom, "Scholz himself was more concerned with PR than with protecting Ukraine".

SPD general secretary Matthias Miersch defended the chancellor's phone conversation with Putin, saying it was important to seek diplomatic progress in the Ukraine war.

Miersch added that Scholz was working closely with Western allies and had always made clear "that there can be no peace with dictated terms" from Moscow.

Der Spiegel magazine cited unnamed German officials as explaining that Scholz's intent was to confront Putin with the reality of the war and how critically Russia is viewed internationally.

Scholz had also vowed to support Ukraine "as long as it takes" and tried to make clear that Europe, alongside the United States, must be involved in any possible peace negotiations.