BERLIN, June 20. /TASS/. There has still been no direct contact between German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Stefan Cornelius, a spokesman for the German government, said on Friday.
"We’ve taken note of all the reports [regarding Putin's readiness for talks with Merz], but no direct contact as of yet," Cornelius said at a news briefing in Berlin.
Earlier this week, President Vladimir Putin said at a TASS-organized meeting with the heads of the world's leading news agencies that Moscow has never refused to talk with Berlin and was ready for interaction if German Chancellor Merz wanted it.
Putin stated that: "If the Federal Chancellor wants to call and talk, as I have said many times, we do not refuse any contacts and are always open to them."