Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Wednesday called on the country's leading lender Sberbank to cut the average mortgage rate to 8 percent from 11.5-12 percent.

"We must seek a slow decrease of the average rate to 8 percent," Putin told Sberbank head German Gref.

"Of course, it will depend on inflation," Gref said, adding that an 8 percent rate was now the minimal rate.

Gref told reporters the bank had no plans to cut rates for any other types of lending.

In April, Putin said that Russian banks should reduce mortgage rates to 5-6 percent in the future from 13 percent in 2010 and 14.3 percent in 2009.