Macron calls Putin after a nearly three-month hiatus

EUROPEAN PRAVDA — FRIDAY, 19 AUGUST 2022, 17:37

French President Emmanuel Macron has called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for the first time in a long time.

So far, only the Russian side has spoken about the call, as reported by European Pravda with reference to Interfax.

Macron and Putin talked among other things about the situation around the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

"The presidents stressed the importance of sending an IAEA mission to the nuclear power plant as soon as possible, to assess the actual situation on the spot. The Russian side has confirmed its readiness to provide the Agency's inspectors with the necessary assistance," the Kremlin said.

At the same time, earlier Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's Permanent Representative to international organisations in Vienna, said that it would be possible to organise a mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP in early September, but hinted that the Russian Federation will only agree to this on its own terms.

In addition, the issue of allowing representatives of the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit the scene of the tragedy in Olenivka was also discussed during the conversation.

Macron and Putin also talked about the implementation of agreements on "grain corridors".

It is worth noting that the last time the two presidents spoke was on 28 May. They shared a line with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and the main topic of conversation was the fate of the Ukrainian military captured by the Russian invaders.

Prior to that, Macron and Putin spoke by phone in early May, March, and five times during February, as tensions rose over a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Macron has been repeatedly criticised for his frequent calls to Putin.

In early August, the Kremlin said that Russia viewed France as an unfriendly state and discussions between the two leaders were "unnecessary".

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