Putin, Macron discuss West Asia, Ukraine over phone

Moscow, Jul 1 (PTI) Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday discussed the situation in West Asia after US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities and situation in Ukraine.

This is the first phone call between Putin and Macron after almost three years.

During the call, both leaders underscored their responsibility to maintain stability in West Asia as the permanent members of the UN Security Council, the Kremlin press office said.

The two leaders underscored Iran’s right for civil nuclear research as a signatory of NPT as a non-nuclear state, it said.

While discussing the situation in Ukraine, Putin told the French president the West ignited the conflict in Ukraine by ignoring Moscow's interests and building a bridgehead against Russia in that country.

“Putin reiterated that the Ukrainian conflict is a direct consequence of the policy of Western countries, which for years ignored the security interests of Russia, were building an anti-Russian foothold in Ukraine and condoned violations of the rights of Russian-speaking residents,” the Kremlin release said.

Last time Putin and Macron had talked over phone was in September 2022, when they discussed the attack on Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant by Ukrainian forces. PTI VS SCY SCY