Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone conversation with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron today, the Kremlin and the Russian Interfax news agency reported, quoted by Reuters, BTA reports.
During the conversation, Putin said that the conflict in Ukraine is the result of the long-standing policy of Western countries, which, he said, ignore Russian interests and turn Ukraine into an anti-Russian bridgehead.
“Putin recalled that the Ukrainian conflict is a consequence of the policy of Western countries, which for years have ignored Russia's security, created an anti-Russian base in Ukraine and tolerated the violation of the rights of Russian-speaking citizens,“, the Kremlin said in a statement.
This is the first telephone conversation between the two leaders in nearly three years, TASS noted.