Russian President Vladimir Putin told French President Emmanuel Macron about the "liberation" of Mariupol and complained that Western powers were ignoring Ukrainian attacks on Russian-controlled territory during a phone call on Tuesday.
The two-hour conversation was the first time the two men had spoken since the end of March. The Élysée Palace gave few details about the call, but the Kremlin said that part of the conversation focused on the besieged city of Mariupol and the evacuation of civilians from the Azovstal steelworks.
Putin also told Macron that the West could have avoided civilian deaths if it had desisted from sending weapons to Ukraine, according to the Kremlin account, which did not touch on allegations of war crimes committed by Russians against Ukrainian civilians.
Macron, for his part, told Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call on Tuesday that he is willing to work with international organisations to help lift the Russian embargo on Ukrainian food exports via the Black Sea, Macron's office said.
The Elysee office also said Macron had reiterated that a ceasefire was needed in Ukraine and that he had told Putin that he was deeply concerned about the situation in Donbas and Mariupol.
"I have called on Russia to live up to its international responsibility as a UN Security Council member by putting an end to this devastating attack," a statement quoted Macron as saying.
VLADIMIR PUTIN: RUSSIA READY FOR PEACE TALKS WITH UKRAINE 
