Macron, Scholz ask Putin to release Azovstal fighters, hold 'serious direct negotiations' with Zelensky

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday to release the 2,500 Ukrainian defenders of the Azovstal steel plant detained by Russian forces, the Elysee palace said.

The two European leaders "took positive note of the Russian President's commitment to treat captured fighters in accordance with international humanitarian law, in particular the Geneva Conventions, and to ensure unhindered access to the International Committee of the Red Cross".

Russia said this month that almost 2,000 Ukrainians had surrendered after making a last stand in the ruins of Mariupol, where they had held out for weeks in bunkers and tunnels beneath the vast Azovstal steelworks.

Macron and Scholz also insisted on the urgency of lifting the Russian blockade of the port of Odesa to allow Ukrainian grain exports, the palace said.

The Kremlin said Putin told Macron and Scholz in the call that Russia was willing to discuss ways to make it possible for Ukraine to resume shipments of grain from Black Sea ports.

DIRECT EXCHANGE WITH ZELENSKY

The two European leaders, in the call, also urged Putin to accept a direct exchange with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Elysee palace said.

During an 80-minute conversation with the Russian president, the two EU leaders "insisted on an immediate ceasefire and a withdrawal of Russian troops," the German chancellor's office added.

Macron and Scholz urged Putin to have "serious direct negotiations with the Ukrainian president and (find) a diplomatic solution to the conflict."