Putin, Macron discuss West Asia, Ukraine in first phone call in 3 years
This is the first phone call between Mr. Putin and Mr. Macron after almost three years.
During the call, both leaders underscored their responsibility to maintain stability in West Asia as the permanent members of the UN Security Council, the Kremlin press office said.
The two leaders underscored Iran's right for civil nuclear research as a signatory of NPT as a non-nuclear state, it said.
While discussing the situation in Ukraine, Mr. Putin told the French President the West ignited the conflict in Ukraine by ignoring Moscow's interests and building a bridgehead against Russia in that country.
'Mr. Putin reiterated that the Ukrainian conflict is a direct consequence of the policy of Western countries, which for years ignored the security interests of Russia, were building an anti-Russian foothold in Ukraine and condoned violations of the rights of Russian-speaking residents,' the Kremlin release said.
Last time Mr. Putin and Mr. Macron had talked over phone was in September 2022, when they discussed the attack on Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant by Ukrainian forces.
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