Putin Talks with Western Leader for First Time After Ukraine Airstrikes... Macron Urges "Immediate Halt"

Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and French President Emmanuel Macron
[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] On the 24th (local time), when Russia's airstrikes on Ukraine began, French President Emmanuel Macron spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin and urged an immediate halt to military operations in Ukraine.

According to major foreign media, the French presidential office stated that President Macron, after consulting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, held successive phone calls with President Putin to discuss the situation in Ukraine and made this request. President Macron became the first Western leader to speak with President Putin since he ordered the invasion of Ukraine. The call was made at President Macron's request.

The Kremlin also issued a statement on the same day, saying that Russian President Putin explained in detail to French President Macron the reasons for launching the invasion, and that "there was a serious and frank exchange of views on the situation in Ukraine." It added that the two leaders agreed to maintain contact.

Since the beginning of this year, as the situation in Ukraine worsened, President Macron has taken on the role of mediator between the West and Russia. On the 7th, he visited Moscow in person and met with President Putin, and has had several phone calls even recently. In particular, on the 20th, after successive calls with U.S. President Joe Biden and President Putin, he announced that "he proposed holding a U.S.-Russia summit to both sides, and both accepted."

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