Macron says he handed Putin Zelensky's request for talks

Baku/25.02.22/Turan: French President Emmanuel Macron said in a phone conversation on Thursday that he handed over Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky's request for talks to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Interfax reported.

"I had a sincere, direct and quick conversation with President Putin at President Zelensky's request to, first of all, ask him to stop the fighting as soon as possible, but especially to offer him talks, to ask him to negotiate with President Zelensky," Macron said at a press conference in Brussels on Friday night after the EU Extraordinary Summit.

The French President said Zelensky had failed to contact Putin.

"Simultaneously I conveyed this message from France to the Russian Federation in a clear way and I also conveyed the message from the Ukrainian President to the Russian President. As you can see now, this had no result because the Russian President has chosen war," Macron continued.

Also, Macron stressed the need to maintain channels of contact with Russia in order to bring about a ceasefire in Ukraine.

"And I think it is my responsibility, first of all, to take these initiatives when Ukraine asks for them. And also, by condemning (Russia - IF), by applying sanctions (...), to leave open this path (for contacts - IF) so that, when conditions allow it, we could achieve a cessation of hostilities," the French President explained.

At the same time Macron stressed that at the moment Russia has deliberately chosen a different way. -0-