Putin won't discuss Ukraine peace with Germany's Scholz, Berlin says

BERLIN (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin is not willing to speak with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on the topic of brokering peace in Ukraine, Germany's foreign minister said on Friday.

"Ukraine is ready for a just peace," Annalena Baerbock said in Berlin, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is expected to hold talks with Scholz on Friday.

Speaking alongside the foreign minister of Slovakia, Baerbock criticised Putin for rejecting overtures for peace talks.

"He refuses to accept peace and every day sends another signal in favour of war and destruction. These days, he is no longer even prepared to speak to the German chancellor on the phone," she said.

(Reporting by Rachel More, Editing by Friederike Heine)