Details on Putin-Macron Phone Call

The phone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed provocative speculations regarding Russia's alleged plans to invade Ukraine. The Kremlin's press service announced this on Saturday, following the leaders' dialogue.

“Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron discussed the situation regarding the provocative speculation about Russia's supposed ‘invasion’ of Ukraine, which is accompanied by arming Ukraine with modern weaponry, thereby creating preconditions for aggressive actions by Ukraine in the Donbas,” the statement read.

The Kremlin noted that the Russian leader emphasized “the lack of desire on the part of the leading Western countries to push the Kyiv authorities to implement the Minsk agreements, which was once again demonstrated by the unsuccessful phase of political consultations among leaders’ political advisors in the Normandy format in Berlin on February 10.”

The Kremlin added that Putin and Macron exchanged opinions on security guarantees for Russia once again. Following the French president's recent visit to Moscow, in-depth exchanges of views occurred on issues concerning the provision of long-term legal guarantees for the security of the Russian Federation and overcoming the deadlock in the intra-Ukrainian conflict resolution, taking into account Emmanuel Macron's conversations with the leaders of Ukraine, the USA, and several European countries, the statement said.

The Kremlin also noted that the conversation took place at the initiative of the French side.