Macron, Scholz Urge Direct Talks between Russian, Ukrainian Presidents
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to hold “serious direct negotiations” with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to find “a diplomatic solution to the conflict” during a phone call Saturday.
During the 80-minute conversation with Putin, the two European leaders "insisted on an immediate ceasefire and a withdrawal of Russian troops", the German chancellor's office said, Reuters reported.
Macron and Scholz urged Putin to have "serious direct negotiations with the Ukrainian president and (find) a diplomatic solution to the conflict".
They asked Putin to release some 2,500 Ukrainian soldiers who were holed up inside the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol and then taken prisoner by Russia.
"The president of the Republic and the German chancellor asked for the release of some 2,500 defenders of Azovstal made prisoners of war by the Russian forces," the French presidency said after a telephone call between the three leaders.
Putin told the two leaders that increasing arms supplies to Ukraine risks “further destabilizing” the situation, the Kremlin said.
He said the continuing arms supplies to Ukraine were "dangerous", warning "of the risks of further destabilization of the situation and aggravation of the humanitarian crisis".
Putin also said Moscow was "ready" to look for ways to ship grain stuck in Ukrainian ports but demanded that the West lift sanctions.
"Russia is ready to help find options for the unhindered export of grain, including the export of Ukrainian grain from the Black Sea ports," he said.
Russia's offensive in Ukraine and Western sanctions have disrupted supplies of fertilizer, wheat and other commodities from the two countries, fuelling concerns about the risk of hunger around the world.
Russia and Ukraine produce 30 percent of the global wheat supply.