A Thursday phone call between French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly went poorly, with Putin saying he plans to take all of Ukraine, an anonymous Macron aide said, according to AFP.
During the call, Putin told Macron that “Russia intends to continue the uncompromising fight against militants of nationalist armed groups,” according to a Kremlin account of the call, AFP reported.
An aide for Macron told the outlet fears the “worse is to come” and said Putin has consistently used “lies.” (RELATED: DeSantis Says France Would Probably Just Give Up If Russia Invaded Them)
The Kremlin released a statement following the phone call noting Russia intended to continue fighting until the demilitarization and neutrality of Ukraine was complete, according to Reuters.
#UPDATE Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed no let-up in his invasion of #Ukraine on Thursday, even as the warring sides met for ceasefire talks and Kyiv appealed for relief supplies to reach shattered cities – latest
▶️ https://t.co/supWJEO4VF pic.twitter.com/Td5ZJNQJ71— AFP News Agency (@AFP) March 3, 2022
“Vladimir Putin outlined in detail the fundamental approaches and conditions in the context of negotiations with representatives of Kyiv,” the statement reportedly read. “It was confirmed that, first of all, we are talking about the demilitarization and neutral status of Ukraine, so that a threat to the Russian Federation will never emanate from its territory.”
“It was emphasized that the tasks of the special military operation will be fulfilled in any event, and attempts to gain time by dragging out negotiations will only lead to additional demands on Kyiv in our negotiating process,” the statement reportedly continued.
Paris Bureau Chief for The Economist Sophie Pedder tweeted that Putin’s “objective is total capitulation,” citing an anonymous aide.
More than 2,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed since the invasion began on Feb. 25, CNN reported. President Joe Biden said Wednesday that Putin was targeting civilians but was not prepared to label Putin’s actions as war crimes, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins reported.