MOSCOW, May 28. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz have agreed to maintain contacts by phone, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS on Saturday.
Earlier in the day, the leaders held a phone conversation focusing on the Ukraine and food crises, and also they agreed to stay in touch.
"[The leaders will continue to hold talks] over the phone," the Kremlin spokesman said when asked about how the contacts would continue and whether a face-to-face meeting, for example, was implied.
The Kremlin said on Saturday that Putin had told Macron and Scholz about the efforts to reestablish a peaceful life in Donbass, emphasized Moscow’s willingness to continue negotiations with Kiev and informed about the dangers of "pumping up" Ukraine with Western weapons. The Russian leader also pointed out that the problems with food supplies had been caused by the anti-Russian sanctions and other mistakes of the West. However, he assured that Moscow "is ready to help find options for unhampered exports of grain, including exports of Ukrainian grain from the Black Sea ports."
"Increasing supplies of Russian fertilizers and agricultural products will also help reduce tension on the global food market, which, of course, would require removing the relevant restrictions," he added.
The three-party talks between the Russian, German and French leaders were the first in eleven weeks, as their previous phone call took place on March 12. Then, the key issues were the humanitarian situation in Ukraine and Moscow’s negotiations with Kiev. However, Putin talked to Macron and Scholz in separate calls not long ago: he spoke to the French president on May 3, shortly after Macron’s re-election, and to the German chancellor on May 13.