French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz have called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to release about 2,500 captured Ukrainian fighters from the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol, the Élysée Palace reports.
The phone call between the three leaders lasted for 80 minutes, the German Bundestag stated.
Macron and Scholz told the Russian president that conflict resolution should be approved by Moscow and Kyiv taking into account Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. They called on Putin to put an end to the hostilities and to launch the negotiating process with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as soon as possible.
Macron and Scholz also stressed the importance of resuming export of Ukrainian grain from Odesa through the Black Sea to avoid a global food crisis.
For his part, the Russian president stated that the current global food supply problems are “caused by the erroneous economic and financial policy of Western countries, as well as the anti-Russian sanctions imposed by them.” Putin noted that tensions on the global food market “can be eased with increased supply of Russian fertiliser and agricultural produce, which, of course, will require the removal of the corresponding sanctions.”
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov added that Putin, Macron and Scholz had agreed to maintain contact over the phone.