It is an unprecedented phone call for almost three years. Emmanuel Macron and Vladimir Putin spoke on Tuesday. And despite their very distant positions, the two leaders, who spoke for “more than two hours on the phone”, agreed to continue “to exchange” on the conflict in Ukraine, said the Elysée.
Moscow and Paris were jointly “the origin” of this call, said the French presidency. Emmanuel Macron had warned his counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky of his intention to join the master of the Kremlin. He also exchanged with him after the call.
When did the last call dated?
The last exchange between French and Russian leaders dates back to September 11, 2022 and had focused on the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporijjia, occupied by the Russians and whose security was then threatened.
The French president, who had been criticized for continuing to speak to the Kremlin master for months after the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine in February 2022, then ceased all contact, accusing Vladimir Putin of “lying” on his intentions and his desire for peace.
Why this call?
Tuesday’s exchange was intended first of all to take stock of Iran – Paris and Moscow being co -signs of the 2015 Vienna Agreement on Iranian nuclear – but also partly worn on Ukraine. Emmanuel Macron has taken the risk of reconnecting with Vladimir Putin, in the wake of Donald Trump since his return to the White House in January, to speak of Iran but without forgetting to recall his requirements on Ukraine, it is said in Paris.
For Russian political scientist Tatiana Stanovaya, founder of the Consulting Cabinet R.Politik, this call “does not mean that Ukraine will lose all support”. “It rather shows the will of Europeans to have a place at the table” of negotiations, even if “there is nothing to discuss” for the moment because of Russian intransigence.
What has been said about Ukraine? …
During this dialogue, Emmanuel Macron underlined “the unwavering support of France to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine”, insisted the Elysée, while Russia occupies almost 20 % of this country. The French head of state called for “the establishment, as soon as possible, of a cease-fire and the launch of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia for a solid and lasting settlement of the conflict”.
The Russian president warned that any peace agreement in Ukraine should be “global and in the long term, predicting the elimination of the deep causes of the Ukrainian crisis and relying on new territorial realities,” said the Kremlin. Moscow has already claimed the annexation of four Ukrainian regions, in addition to the Crimean Peninsula, which she invaded in 2014.
Vladimir Putin also hammered that the Ukrainian conflict was “a direct consequence of the policy of Western States”, which have “ignored the security interests of Russia for years” and created an “anti-Russian bridgehead in Ukraine”.
… And on Iran?
If they displayed their differences on the conflict in Ukraine, the two leaders, on the other hand, displayed their desire to cooperate on Iran after the Israeli and American strikes.
Our file on Russia
On Iranian nuclear, they “decided to coordinate their efforts and speak to each other soon in order to follow up together” of the file, according to the Elysée. In this regard, Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron hammered that crises in the Middle East should be resolved “by diplomacy,” added the Russian presidency.
Emmanuel Macron insisted on the need for a “sustainable and demanding regulation of the nuclear file, the question of missiles of Iran and its role in the region”. For this, he asked that inspectors can “resume their work without delay” in Iran, while Tehran threatens to break with the International Atomic Energy Agency (AIEA). Vladimir Putin for his part said that, according to him, Iran had “the right” to develop a “civil nuclear” program.
