In last-ditch bid, Macron talks Ukraine with Putin, then calls Zelensky

French President Emmanuel Macron called Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Sunday about the situation in Ukraine in a last-ditch effort to avert a Russian invasion of Ukraine, his office said.

The call, which lasted 105 minutes, came two weeks after Macron went to Moscow to persuade Putin to hold back from sending troops massed on the border into Ukraine.

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It represented “the final possible and necessary efforts to avoid a major conflict in Ukraine,” the Elysee said ahead of the conversation.

The call came a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Macron that he would not respond to what he called Russia’s “provocations,” according to the Elysee, and remained open to “dialogue” with Moscow.

But in a speech to the Munich Security Conference he also called on western governments to stop what he said was “a policy of appeasement” towards Putin.

After the conversation with Putin on Sunday, Macron went on to talk with Zelensky on the telephone, the French presidency said.

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