Today, Vladimir Putin, Russian President was acknowledged “progress” in the negotiations with UkraineEmmanuel Macron had a phone conversation with him in France, and he was insistent about his willingness to keep the offensive going in the east.
Sources from the Elysee claim that Putin stated that he was not prepared to abandon his military goals in Ukraine, notably in Mariupol. He also refused to lift the siege on that city.
Macron will hold a conversation with the Ukrainian president, Volodímir Zelenski, in the next few hours, to Listen to his account of the contacts made with Russia on Tuesday in Turkey.
Macron joined a videoconference with Joe Biden before his conversation with Putin. This was a one-hour-long meeting.
Paris claims to have the parameters of the negotiation. This includes giving Ukraine neutrality status. However, Paris points out that the dialogue has stopped at the boundary definition. It also notes that Russia is still violating international humanitarian law and that the war in Syria is ongoing.
Macron demanded in this spirit that Putin in Mariupol grant him a truce to allow the voluntary departure by the 160,000 civilians he calculated remained in the city with no outside contact.
Faced with this request the Russian president reiterated that the city was of strategic importance, which is one of his priorities. He rejected Macron’s request.
The French president presented the plan jointly with Turkey and Greece to address the large humanitarian operation in the city, located on the Black Sea coast. But Putin only said that he would answer later.
Another issue was the Russian president’s demand for payment in rubles for oil and gas. Macron claimed that he was against the signed contracts. But, French sources claim that Putin responded otherwise.
Biden was the one who initiated the conversation. The leaders of these five countries maintained their coordination for helping UkraineSanctions are imposed on RussiaHow to reduce the negative effects of war on the global economy EFE