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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Shaun Walker in Kyiv

Putin defiant as Macron and Scholz call for fresh Ukraine peace talks

A serviceman of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic walks at the damaged war memorial complex outside Donetsk.
A serviceman of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic walks on a damaged war memorial in Donetsk. Photograph: Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters

Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz held a three-way telephone conversation with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, on Saturday, with the French and German leaders urging Putin to hold “direct serious negotiations” with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

The call came as Russia’s assault on Ukraine’s Donbas region continues to grind on. During the 80-minute conversation, the two leaders “insisted on an immediate ceasefire and a withdrawal of Russian troops”, according to a readout from Scholz’s office.

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