Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a telephone conversation with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday that the West should stop arms supplies to Ukraine as Macron renewed his call for a ceasefire in Ukraine.
“The West can help stop these atrocities by exerting appropriate influence on the Kyiv authorities, as well as stopping the supply of weapons to Ukraine,” the Kremlin said in a statement.
Putin told Macron that the West can help put an end to “war crimes and the massive bombing of cities and towns in the Donbass” that are causing civilian casualties.
The Russian president accused Ukrainian forces of committing war crimes and the European Union of “ignoring them.”
Russia denies alleged war crimes committed by its forces in Ukraine and blames civilian deaths on what it calls nationalists and “neo-Nazis”. Kyiv and the West reject this claim.
Putin said that despite Kyiv’s “controversy and unwillingness to work hard, the Russian side remains open to dialogue” to find a way out of the conflict.
The Kremlin explained that Putin responded to France’s concerns about global food security by saying that “the situation in this region is being complicated mainly because of Western sanctions” against Russia.
For his part, Macron told his Russian counterpart that he was ready to work with international organizations to help lift the Russian embargo on Ukrainian food exports across the Black Sea.
French President Putin urged Putin to “allow the continuation of the evacuation from Azovstal (factory)” in the port city of Mariupol in southern Ukraine.
Eliseisky said Macron had reiterated the need for a ceasefire in Ukraine and told Putin that he was deeply concerned about the situation in Donbass and Mariupol.
“I called on Russia to fulfill its international responsibility as a member of the UN Security Council by putting an end to this devastating attack,” Macron said in a statement.
