French Foreign Minister states need to maintain dialogue with Russia

PARIS: French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said it is necessary to maintain a channel of dialogue with Russia on Ukraine, including at the request of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"It is necessary to maintain a channel of dialogue [with Russian President Vladimir Putin]. This is exactly what President [Emmanuel] Macron is trying to do... including because Zelenskyy asks him to do this. President Putin does not want to talk to Zelenskyy," Le Drian said on BFMTV channel when asked if France should maintain a dialogue with Putin.

The French minister also expressed the opinion that the hostilities in Ukraine would be long and difficult, not ruling out that they could last for years.

Macron and Putin last had a telephone conversation on May 3. According to French media, it lasted 2 hours and 10 minutes. Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24 in response to calls from the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics for protection against intensifying attacks by Ukrainian troops.

The Russian Defense Ministry said the special operation, which targets Ukrainian military infrastructure, aims to "demilitarize and denazify" Ukraine. Moscow has said it has no plans to occupy Ukraine. Western nations have imposed sanctions on Russia and Belarus.