BACKGROUND
1)Jim Tankersley, Christopher F. Schuetze and Anatoly Kurmanaev, “Putin Talks With German Chancellor, Breaking Ice With the West; The hourlong call centered on what German officials said was a push to end the war in Ukraine. It was the first in two years between Mr. Putin and Chancellor Olaf Scholz,” New York Times, November 15, 2024 (Updated 1:56 p.m. ET);