Macron and Putin Break Three-Year Silence: What Was Said in Their First Call Since 2021?

French President Emmanuel Macron held a phone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, 1 July — their first direct conversation in three years.

The news was reported by Bloomberg, quoting a statement from the Élysée Palace.

According to a statement from the Élysée Palace, Macron and Putin agreed to coordinate their countries’ approaches to Iran. Their conversation lasted two hours.

The Kremlin reported that Putin and Macron “stressed the special responsibility of Russia and France as permanent members of the UN Security Council”, and reaffirmed their support for international peace and stability.

Putin described the talks as “essential”. During the conversation, the leaders of France and Russia also discussed the war in Ukraine. Putin reiterated Russia’s position that any settlement should “aim to eliminate the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis and be based on new territorial realities”.

He also repeated Moscow’s narrative that the conflict stems from years of Western neglect of Russia’s security concerns and outlined Russia’s conditions for implementing a ceasefire.

Notably, on 30 May, during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council, Russia set out its conditions for declaring a ceasefire. These included halting mobilization in Ukraine and ending the supply of Western weapons.
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