Macron calls Putin after Zelenskyy's calls were 'not getting through'
Emmanuel Macron is positioning himself as the mediator between Russia and Ukraine for a potential ceasefire agreement
French President Emmanuel Macron said he has called Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked him to contact Putin because his calls were "not getting through", reports the BBC.
Macron said he phoned Putin to ask him to stop military operations and the call was "frank, direct, quick".
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"It was also to ask him to discuss with President Zelensky, who had requested that, because he could not reach him," Macron told reporters after an EU summit in Brussels.
Emmanuel Macron is positioning himself as the mediator between Russia and Ukraine for a potential ceasefire agreement.
"I think it is my responsibility, first of all, to take such initiatives when they are requested by Ukraine, and then, while condemning, while sanctioning, while continuing to decide and act, to leave this path open so that the day when the conditions can be met, we can obtain a cessation of hostilities for the Ukrainian people," Macron said a joint news conference Friday in Brussels after an emergency European Union summit.
Macron also accused Putin of duplicity, saying he and other European leaders had been discussing "the details of the implementation of the Minsk agreements" with Putin just hours before the Russian President launched the operation, referring to the 2015 pact that established a shaky ceasefire in the region.
