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Macron to talk to Zelensky before conversation with Putin

04 December 2022 03:30 (UTC +04:00)

French President Emmanuel Macron says he plans to talk to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of phone talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, APA reports citing Sputnik.

"I waited for the opportunity to discuss everything in detail with (US) President (Joe) Biden (before talking with Putin). I also waited for a conversation with (Rafael Grossi) the Director General of the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), with whom I will talk again this Sunday... And, of course, as I always had, first I have to talk with President Zelenskyy," Macron told Le Parisien daily in a Saturday interview.

Earlier on Saturday, Macron told French broadcaster TF1 that he would discuss the situation with nuclear energy in Ukraine with Putin after talks with Rafael Grossi.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Sputnik on Saturday that there is no set date yet for a phone conversation between the Russian President and his French counterpart.

Macron paid an official visit to the US from November 29 to December 2.

He met with Biden in Washington on Thursday to discuss the situation in Ukraine, the economy, trade, energy and space cooperation.

The French president said on Saturday that Paris and Washington should make preparations to facilitate dialogue between Russia and Ukraine.

Earlier this year, Zelensky refused to negotiate with Russia as long as President Vladimir Putin remains in office, but changed his stance later and laid out conditions for starting dialogue in a video statement released on November 8, shortly after reports emerged in US media that the Biden administration was privately encouraging Kyiv to demonstrate its readiness to negotiate with Moscow.

The Kremlin said on Friday that Putin has always been and continues to remain open to negotiations on Ukraine, as evident from his attempts to initiate dialogue with the US, NATO and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) even before the start of hostilities.