Macron announced his desire to discuss the situation at the ZNPP with Putin

French President Emmanuel Macron said he wants to talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin after talking with the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and discuss the situation with civilian nuclear energy in Ukraine.

“I plan to talk again with President Putin after the conversation with the head of the IAEA, in particular on the topic of civil nuclear energy. We must continue to help Ukraine, strive to avoid escalation, protect the ZNPP and prepare dialogue for the day when everyone is at the negotiating table,” said Macron in an interview with TF1 TV channel (TASS quote).

There is no exact date for the telephone conversation between Putin and Macron yet, informed RIA Novosti press secretary of the head of state Dmitry Peskov. On December 1, it also became known that Macron plans to speak with Putin in the coming days after talks with US President Joe Biden. In November, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Macron was ready to continue contacts with Putin to resolve the conflict in Ukraine.

The French president has previously indicated the need to continue the dialogue with Putin. According to Macron, it is necessary to step up diplomatic efforts so that the parties to the conflict in Ukraine hold negotiations. At the same time, he stressed that this process should begin on Kyiv’s terms.

Earlier this week, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi informed about negotiations on the organization of his meeting with the President of Russia. Russia has controlled the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant since the end of February. In early October, after the Zaporozhye region became part of Russia, Vladimir Putin instructed to take the plant facilities into federal ownership and create the Zaporozhye NPP Federal State Unitary Enterprise to ensure the safety of nuclear facilities.