The Kremlin confirmed the conversation but said Putin blamed the West for the conflict and said any peace deal should be “long-term.”
The talks lasted for more than two hours and the two agreed to hold more contacts on Ukraine and Iran in the future, the French presidency said.
Macron “emphasized France’s unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” and “called for the establishment, as soon as possible, of a ceasefire and the launch of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia for a solid and lasting settlement of the conflict,” said an Elysee Palace statement.
A Kremlin statement said Putin “reminded [Macron] that the Ukrainian conflict is a direct consequence of the policy of Western states.”
Putin added that Western states had “for many years ignored Russia’s security interests” and “created an anti-Russian bridgehead in Ukraine.”
The Kremlin said Putin told the French president that any peace deal should be “comprehensive and long-term, provide for the elimination of the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis and be based on new territorial realities.”
