Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone call on Saturday with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron. Blaming Ukraine for freezing peace talks, Putin assured the Europeans that Moscow remained ready to negotiate an end to the ongoing conflict, and condemned the West for flooding the neighboring country with weapons.
According to a readout of the call published by the Kremlin, Putin outlined the latest developments in Russia’s military operation in Ukraine and described the return of normal life to Mariupol and other cities recently taken from Ukrainian forces.
Putin confirmed that Russia was open to a negotiated peace deal and was ready to export fertilizer and other agricultural products, but that this would require the lifting of some Western-imposed sanctions. He also said that Russia would ensure that the export of grain could take place from Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea. Until recently, such exports had been impossible due to Ukraine’s mining of the sea, according to Moscow. However, the Russian Navy has opened two corridors for civilian vessels, one in the Black Sea and another through the Azov Sea.