Putin speaks to Macron over phone, says EU ignores all war crimes committed by Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin told his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, on Tuesday about Russia's military activity in Donbass and the evacuation of residents from the Azovstal plant in Mariupol, according to the Kremlin. Putin also reminded Macron that despite Ukraine's "inconsistency and unpreparedness," Russia "remains open for discussion."

Kremlin in a statement, said, "The exchange of views on the situation in Ukraine continued. The president of Russia informed about the progress of a special military operation to protect the republics of Donbass, including the liberation of Mariupol and the evacuation of civilians held by nationalists at the Azovstal plant in accordance with the agreement reached at a meeting between Vladimir Putin and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on 26 April."

According to the Kremlin, Putin reminded Macron that the European Union is not paying attention to war crimes committed by Ukrainian soldiers. Putin also stated that the west could assist in putting an end to the 'atrocities' perpetrated by Ukrainian security forces.

French President Emmanuel Macron spoke over phone with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday. According to France's BFM TV channel, the conversation lasted more than two hours. The dialogue was the first between the two leaders since Macron's re-election on April 24. Notably, Macron had a conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday. Macron travelled to Moscow and Kyiv in early February to meet with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts. He keeps in touch with both Putin and Zelenskyy on a regular basis.

EU not paying attention to Ukraine war crimes: Putin

Further, according to Kremlin, Putin reminded Macron that the European Union is not paying attention to war crimes committed by Ukrainian soldiers. Putin also stated that the west could assist in putting an end to the 'atrocities' perpetrated by Ukrainian security forces. Furthermore, according to the Kremlin press office, during the conversation Macron expressed concern about the rising difficulty of maintaining global food security.

Kremlin said, "The French side expressed concern about the emerging problem of ensuring global food security. In this context, Vladimir Putin stressed that the situation in this matter is complicated primarily due to the sanctions measures of Western countries and noted the importance of the unimpeded functioning of the global logistics and transport infrastructure."

Putin also mentioned the need of a well-functioning global logistics and transportation infrastructure during the conversation, according to the Kremlin press service. "Vladimir Putin stressed that the situation in this matter is complicated primarily due to the sanctions measures of Western countries, and noted the importance of the unimpeded functioning of the global logistics and transport infrastructure," Kremlin claimed in the statement.

(With agency inputs)

Image: AP