On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin contacted French President Emmanuel Macron, in what looked to be a far more hostile conversation than prior exchanges between the two leaders.
As per a senior French source, the 90-minute chat did not result in a diplomatic breakthrough, leaving Macron concerned that "the worst is yet to come" and that Putin aims to grab control of all of Ukraine.
France Warns That Putin is Making a "Major Mistake"
According to Russian and Ukrainian authorities, the conversation, which the French president stated was initiated by President Putin, took place as Ukrainian officials were prepared to meet with a Russian group. However, based on the interaction between the two leaders on Thursday, there was no hint that a diplomatic solution was in the works.
Putin assured Macron, according to the Kremlin's press service, that the goals of the special military operation - the Kremlin's phrase for Russia's invasion of Ukraine - will be met in any scenario.
President Putin disagreed "with many points" stated in Macron's speech, according to the Kremlin news service, and he disputed that Russia was responsible for the bombardment of major Ukrainian towns, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
President Macron is the only Western leader who has maintained regular public communication with Putin since Ukraine's invasion, in what the French presidency has described as an effort to keep the door to real dialogue open. Putin and Macron also spoke on Monday and Thursday of last week, according to the Washington Post.
The call, which occurred at the request of the Kremlin, was the third between the two presidents since the start of the war, according to the French presidency. President Macron has positioned himself at the heart of European diplomacy, burnishing his prestige in France and abroad by becoming an intermediary with Putin, who is set to launch his bid for re-election in April later on Thursday.
Despite the French presidency's assurances that diplomatic relations with Russia would be maintained for as long as required - even to facilitate the passage of humanitarian aid - Mr. Macron's outreach to Putin has been limited by his phone talks with Putin.
The French source gave a pessimistic assessment of Putin's will to pursue the fight, adding that the Russian leader recited a long list of grievances and perceived slights from Western countries that had compelled him to act. According to the person, Putin also reiterated demands that the Ukrainian government and other European nations have previously found unacceptable, as per New York Times.
Vladimir Putin Firm at Stance to Go With The Plan
President Putin reiterated that Russia is pursuing "neo-Nazis," adding that he "would never give up on (his) belief that Russians and Ukrainians are one people" during the televised beginning of a national security council meeting.
According to a Kremlin account of their talk, Putin warned French President Emmanuel Macron that Moscow plans to maintain its tough struggle against militants of nationalist armed organizations.
After NATO allies ruled out establishing a no-fly zone for fear of triggering a direct conflict with nuclear-armed Russia, President Zelenskyy has called on the West to provide military support.
The EU has already given fighter jets, and a source in Berlin claimed Germany was going to send another 2,700 anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine. The 27-nation group also decided to grant temporary protection to all refugees fleeing Ukraine's war, which the UN estimates to number more than one million.
Both sides clasped hands across a table at the start of the discussions, the Ukrainian representatives in military uniforms and the Russians in more formal clothes, at an unknown site on the Belarus-Poland border, SBS News reported.
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