(Moscow) Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron had a “serious and frank” telephone conversation on Thursday about the military operation launched by Moscow in Ukraine, the Kremlin reported.
Posted at 4:26 p.m.
This is the first known telephone contact between Mr Putin and a Western leader since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine on Thursday morning.
The two leaders “had a serious and frank exchange of views on the situation around Ukraine,” the Kremlin said in a statement issued after the meeting, which was organized, according to the French presidency, ” at the initiative of the French party”.
During his conversation with Mr. Macron, Mr. Putin “gave a detailed explanation of the reasons and circumstances of the decision to carry out a special military operation” in Ukraine, the Kremlin added.
According to a source within the French presidency, Mr. Macron “demanded the immediate end” of the Russian offensive in Ukraine “by recalling that Russia was exposed to massive sanctions”.
Several dozen people died in bombardments and clashes.
The Russian operation was widely condemned by the international community and Western countries imposed economic sanctions on Moscow in response.