(Moscow) Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that the Ukrainian forces defending the strategic port of Mariupol, besieged for weeks by troops from Moscow, must surrender to help civilians there.
Posted at 1:27 p.m.
“To find a solution to the difficult humanitarian situation in this city, Ukrainian nationalist fighters must stop resisting and lay down their arms,” Putin said, according to a Kremlin statement summarizing a telephone exchange with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron.
According to this source, Mr. Putin informed his French counterpart of the “measures taken by the Russian army to provide emergency humanitarian aid and ensure the safe evacuation of civilians” in Ukraine.
The Kremlin adds that the two leaders discussed Tuesday’s Russian-Ukrainian talks in Istanbul and issues related to Moscow’s decision to demand payment in rubles for its gas exports.
“It is agreed to continue the contacts” between MM. Putin and Macron, the Kremlin added.