Macron held telephone talks with Putin and Zelenskyy: what is known

French leader Emmanuel Macron held telephone talks with Russian and Ukrainian Presidents, Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

France24 reported this with reference to the Elysee Palace, Zelenskyy on Twitter and the website of the President of the Russian Federation.

During separate talks with the Russian and Ukrainian presidents, Macron stressed the need to "speed up" the peace process in Ukraine's Donbas, "where Moscow has been supporting pro-Russian separatists since 2014."

Zelenskyy said he and Macron had discussed countering "security challenges" and stepping up the "peace process within the Normandy format."

They also "agreed on further joint steps to maintain Ukraine's stability and strengthen financial and economic cooperation."

The Kremlin reports that during a conversation with Macron, Vladimir Putin "again drew attention to provocative statements and actions of the Kyiv leadership that contradict the Minsk agreements."

It was reported that French President Emmanuel Macron would hold telephone talks with the presidents of Ukraine and Russia on Thursday evening.

To recap, Macron declared the day before that he didn't rule out the visit to Russia to discuss the "crisis around Ukraine".

In addition, on January 26, it became known that Macron's visit to Ukraine was being prepared.

On February 2, Macron held a conversation with US President Joe Biden, after which the leaders promised to coordinate the response to Russia's military build-up.