Macron, Putin discuss Iran, Ukraine in first talks since 2022

PARIS - Leaders Emmanuel Macron and Vladimir Putin on July 1 spoke by telephone for the first time in over 2½ years, with the French president urging a ceasefire in Ukraine but the Russian president hitting back by blaming the West for the conflict.

One week after a ceasefire ended Israel’s 12-day war with Iran, the two men also discussed Tehran’s nuclear programme, with Mr Macron suggesting Moscow and Paris work together to de-escalate tensions.

Fighting still raged on the ground in Ukraine over three years after Russia’s full-scale February 2022 invasion of its neighbour sparked the war, with efforts to agree a ceasefire at a standstill.

Ukrainian drones hit the Russian city of Izhevsk on July 1, killing three people and wounding dozens in one of the deepest strikes inside Russia of the conflict, the authorities said.

The telephone call lasted more than two hours and Mr Macron and Mr Putin agreed to hold more conversations on Ukraine and Iran in the future, the French presidency said.

Mr Macron “emphasised France’s unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” and “called for the establishment, as soon as possible, of a ceasefire and the launch of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia for a solid and lasting settlement of the conflict”, said the Elysee Palace.

A Kremlin statement said Mr Putin reminded Mr Macron that “the Ukrainian conflict is a direct consequence of the policy of Western states”.

Mr Putin added that Western states had “for many years ignored Russia’s security interests” and “created an anti-Russian bridgehead in Ukraine”.

The Kremlin said Mr Putin told the French president that any peace deal should be “comprehensive and long-term, provide for the elimination of the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis and be based on new territorial realities”.

Mr Macron had alerted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of his plans to speak with Mr Putin, and talked to him afterwards, Mr Macron’s office said without providing further details.

‘Coordinate efforts’ on Iran

On Iran, “the two presidents decided to coordinate their efforts and to speak soon in order to follow up together on this issue”, the French presidency added.

Mr Macron has previously urged Iran to ease tensions by moving to “zero enrichment” of uranium in its nuclear programme.

“He expressed his determination to seek a diplomatic solution that would allow for a lasting and demanding settlement of the nuclear issue, the question of Iran’s missiles and its role in the region,” the Elysee said.

Russia, which like France is a permanent member of the UN Security Council, has a cordial relationship with Iran’s clerical leadership and has long urged a diplomatic solution to the stand-off over the Iranian nuclear programme.

The Kremlin said Mr Putin emphasised “the lawful right of Tehran in developing a civilian” nuclear programme.

It said both presidents agreed that the conflict over Iran’s nuclear programme and other Middle Eastern conflicts should be solved “exclusively” by diplomatic means and that the two leaders would “continue contacts” on this.

The French leader tried in a series of phone calls in 2022 to warn Mr Putin against invading Ukraine and travelled to Moscow early that year. He kept up phone contact with Mr Putin after the invasion but talks then ceased, with the last call between the presidents dating back to September 2022.

Mr Macron has over the last year toughened his line against Russia, saying its expansionism is a threat to all of Europe.

In April 2024, Russia’s then defence minister Sergei Shoigu and French counterpart Sebastien Lecornu, a close confidant of Mr Macron, held talks focused on security in the run-up to the Olympic Games in Paris.

That was the last official high-level contact between the two countries.

Stalled peace efforts

Ukraine’s attack on Izhevsk, more than 1,000km from the front line, targeted arms production facilities including factories that make attack drones and the Kalashnikov rifle.

A Ukraine security services source said Kyiv had targeted an Izhevsk-based drone manufacturer and that the attack had disrupted Moscow’s “offensive potential”.

Russian forces in turn struck the town of Guliaipole in Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region, causing “casualties and fatalities”, Ukraine’s southern defence forces said, without specifying numbers.

Mr Macron’s call with Mr Putin comes as diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have stalled in recent weeks.

Pressed by US President Donald Trump to find a solution, the two sides held direct talks almost a month ago but Moscow has since stepped up deadly strikes on Ukraine. Moscow’s army has ravaged parts of east and south Ukraine while seizing large swathes of territory.

An AFP analysis published on July 1 found that Russia dramatically ramped up aerial attacks in June, firing thousands of drones to pressure the war-torn country’s stretched air defence systems and exhausted civilian population.

Moreover, in June, Moscow made its biggest territorial gain since November while accelerating advances for a third consecutive month, according to another AFP analysis based on data from US-based Institute for the Study of War. AFP