BERLIN (Reuters) -German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged Russian President Vladimir Putin in a rare phone call on Friday to begin talks with Ukraine that would open the way for a "just and lasting peace".

Germany's government says that Chancellor Olaf Scholz had a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the first such conversation in two years.

Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned ‘Russia’s war of aggression’ against Ukraine during the call.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy cautioned German Chancellor Olaf Scholz against speaking to Vladimir Putin by phone on Friday, saying it would reduce the Russian leader's isolation and keep the war going,

The leaders of Russia and Germany spoke for the first time in nearly two years on Friday as the Kremlin repeated a demand that Ukraine accept the “new territorial realities” created by its invasion and abandon its hopes of Nato membership forever.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on 15 November, calling on the Kremlin leader to end the war and withdraw Russian forces from Ukraine. Source: Süddeutsche Zeitung;

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.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned German Chancellor Olaf Scholz against speaking to Vladimir Putin by phone on Friday, saying it would reduce the Russian leader's isolation and keep the war going,

Germany's government says that Chancellor Olaf Scholz had a one-hour call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the first such conversation in two years