German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin for an hour by phone on Friday, the first conversation between the two leaders in nearly two years. Scholz warned Putin that the deployment of North Korean troops for combat in Russia or Ukraine would be a "serious escalation and expansion of the conflict,

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke on the phone for an hour on Friday afternoon, a German government source said on Friday. Scholz and Putin last spoke directly in December 2022, the government said.

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

A German government spokesperson said that Chancellor Olaf Scholz held direct talks via telephone Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin during which he demanded the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine and that Russia show a willingness to negotiate a just and lasting peace.

Some of the most prominent Russian dissidents and their supporters gathered over the weekend in Berlin. The opposition has a wide range of demands, but this was an opportunity for activists to gather with a common message — to end Russian President Vladimir Putin's reign.