Paris: Moscow's accusations of violations of humanitarian law "lies" by Kiev
The French presidency considered that Russian President Vladimir Putin's accusation of Ukrainian forces of violating humanitarian law is nothing more than "lies", following a phone call Saturday between the Russian President, his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
The Elysee said that during this call, which lasted for an hour and a quarter, the French president and the German chancellor renewed Russia's call for an "immediate ceasefire and the start of a diplomatic solution."
Prior to this call, Macron and Schulze spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who asked them to intervene with President Putin to immediately stop the fighting as the Russian military tightens its noose around Kyiv and continues to bomb other cities.
Zelensky also asked them to help release the mayor of the Ukrainian city of Melitopol, who was kidnapped by the Russians on Friday, according to Kyiv.
The Elysee also noted that "the situation is very difficult and unsustainable in humanitarian terms" in the strategic port city of Mariupol, which has been besieged for nearly two weeks, and "the only decision that President Putin has to take is to lift the siege."
As for Paris, Putin repeated "lies" when he spoke on the call of "blatant violations" of human rights committed by the Ukrainian military, which uses civilians as "human shields".
Emmanuel Macron responded that the Russian army's "excesses must stop" and that its "abuses" could "constitute war crimes... under international law."
At the end of this conversation, which was described as "very frank and difficult" and comes at a "tragic moment", Emmanuel Macron said that he was "determined to use all the possibilities of diplomacy, specifically the very difficult dialogue" with Vladimir Putin, but also sanctions "which are of a historical nature". According to the French presidency.
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