The leaders of Russia, France and Germany spoke for 80 minutes by teleconference today, reviewing both the Ukraine crisis and the global food emergency. According to the Kremlin readout, President Putin briefed President Macron and Chancellor Scholz on the military situation on the ground in Ukraine and on the failure of the negotiations because of Kyiv. Putin also rejected the media lie that Russia is responsible for world food shortages, and explained that they are a result of wrong Western economic and financial policies. Russia is ready to help improve the situation with supplies of fertilizers and wheat from Ukrainian ports, noting that “Increasing the supplies of Russian fertilizers and agricultural produce will also help reduce tensions in the global food market, but that will definitely require the lifting of the relevant sanctions.”
The Kremlin added: “Special attention was paid to the progress on the negotiation track, which has been stalling through Kyiv’s fault. Vladimir Putin reaffirmed the Russian side’s openness to the resumption of dialogue. The President of Russia was critical of the continued dangerous practice of pumping Ukraine with Western weapons, cautioning against the risks of the country’s further destabilization and aggravation of the humanitarian crisis.” Both Germany and France have been among the nations sending such heavy military equipment to Ukraine.
The German government’s readout on the call emphasized that both Scholz and Macron urged Putin to declare an immediate armistice and withdraw Russian troops from Ukraine. Euronews also reported that Scholz and Macron asked Putin to “free the captured Azovstal fighters” – i.e., the Nazi-emblazoned Azov Regiment and others who finally surrendered in Mariupol and are now being held by the Russians.
