In a telephone conversation initiated by the Germany side, Putin and Merkel discussed the crisis in Lebanon, the Kremlin said in a statement.

"They emphasized the need for the international community to take coordinated action to normalizing the situation in the Middle East and noted the UN Security Council's role in this process," the statement said.

Israeli warplanes struck Lebanon overnight in an escalating war against Hezbollah, now in its tenth day, in response to rocket attacks by Hezbollah militants, who kidnapped two Israeli soldiersand killed eight others last week.

Four Israeli troops were killed in fierce battles with Hezbollah guerrillas, who lost two of its fighters, inside Lebanon on Thursday.

Russia on Thursday criticized Israel for using excessive force in its offensive against Hezbollah militants, saying the operations "went far beyond an anti-terrorist operation."

Putin and Merkel met over the weekend for the Group of Eight (G8) summit in St. Petersburg, during which the two and other G8 leaders called on Hezbollah militants to "immediately halt their attacks" and urged Israel to "exercise utmost restraint" in its actions to defend itself.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan sent a three-member crisis team to the Middle East last week. The UN chief was blunt in describing the findings of the mission as he briefed the Security Council Thursday on UN mediation efforts.

"Let me be frank with the council," he said. "The mission's assessment is that there are serious obstacles to reaching a ceasefire, or even to diminishing the violence quickly."

At the same time, Annan criticized what Hezbollah has done, saying Hezbollah's attack on July 12 was "the trigger of this crisis."

Annan called for an immediate end to hostilities between Israel and Lebanon. "What is most urgently needed is an immediate cessation of hostilities," he told the Security Council.