SULAIMANI (ESTA) — French President Emmanuel Macron spoke by phone with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, urging him to end Russia’s attacks on Ukraine, his office said in a statement.
The Elysee office said Macron had reiterated that a ceasefire was needed in Ukraine and that he had told Putin that he was deeply concerned about the situation in Donbas and Mariupol, according to Reuters.
“I have called on Russia to live up to its international responsibility as a UN Security Council member by putting an end to this devastating attack,” a statement quoted Macron as saying.
Meanwhile, Russian news agencies reported that Putin discussed the situation in Ukraine with Macron and urged the West to put pressure on Kyiv to halt “atrocities”.
Putin told Macron that the West could help end “war crimes [and] massive shelling of towns and settlements in Donbas”, leading to civilian casualties, Reuters reported.
Russia denies alleged war crimes by its own forces in Ukraine and has blamed the deaths of civilians on what it calls nationalists and “neo-Nazis”, a claim dismissed by Kyiv and the West.
“The West could help put an end to these atrocities by exerting appropriate influence on the Kyiv authorities and by halting arms deliveries to Ukraine”, RIA news agency cited the Kremlin as saying, according to Reuters.
Putin also told his French counterpart that Moscow was still ready for dialogue with Ukraine.
