“Long live India-France friendship”: Emmanuel Macron at Rashtrapati Bhavan
At the outset of his address during a banquet hosted by President Droupadi Murmu, Macron expressed heartfelt gratitude for the warm welcome extended to his delegation.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy and discussed the terms of a potential ceasefire in Ukraine, said a media report citing the French presidency.
As per the official statement, Putin and Zelenskyy reached “no agreement,” however, Macron “remains convinced of the need to continue his efforts” as he “stands alongside Ukraine”, France 24 reported. Further, the Kremlin confirmed that Putin and Macron had a call in which they exchanged views about the current Ukraine situation, including the talks between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators.
In the early hours of February 24, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine after the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) appealed for help in defending themselves against the Kyiv forces.
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Russia said that the aim of its special operation is to demilitarize and “denazify” Ukraine and that only military infrastructure is being targeted – the civilian population is not in danger. Moscow has repeatedly stressed that it has no plans to occupy Ukraine.
According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the goal is to protect the people of Donbas, “who have been subjected to abuse, genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years.”
However, the Western countries have strongly condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and imposed heavy sanctions on Moscow.
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