Macron spoke with Putin for over two hours: among the topics was the Russian-Ukrainian war

French President Emmanuel Macron spoke on the phone with dictator Vladimir Putin for over two hours – including about the Russian-Ukrainian war. The Kremlin initially reported the conversation, and the Élysée Palace later confirmed it.

The first issue mentioned in the statements of both countries is the conflict between Iran and Israel, and the second is the war between Russia and Ukraine.

According to the Kremlin, Putin repeated to Macron the clichés of Russian propaganda, claiming that the West is allegedly to blame for the start of the war and is now "prolonging" its end by providing military assistance to Ukraine.

The dictator also reiterated the old Russian demands for "eliminating the root causes" of the war and "territorial realities." By the former, the occupiers mean Ukraine's disarmament and withdrawal from NATO, as well as the so-called denazification, and by the latter, the recognition as Russian of those territories of Ukraine that Moscow illegally added to its Constitution.

Instead, the Élysée Palace reported that during the more than two-hour conversation, Macron stressed to Putin "France's unwavering support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine."

The French President called on the dictator to cease fire as soon as possible and to start negotiations between Ukraine and Russia for a "strong and lasting resolution of the conflict".

Macron and Putin will continue to "exchange views on this issue," the French side concludes.

The last conversation between the president and the dictator took place in September 2022.

• From December 2021 and in the first six months of the full-scale invasion, Macron had frequent conversations with Putin, for which he was repeatedly criticized. In response, the French president stated that he would continue this dialogue to seek paths to peace.
• In March 2024, Macron stated that he would answer Putin's call if he wanted to contact him and "offer something." In November of the same year, then-German Chancellor Scholz spoke with Putin on the phone: after the conversation, he noted that the dictator had not changed his views on the war.
• Later, after returning to power in 2025, US President Trump began to communicate regularly with Putin and has already had five conversations.