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French president says no dialogue with Putin is 'nothing personal'

French president added that he had had several phone calls with the president of Russia at the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine

French President Emmanuel Macron Irina Yakovleva/TASS

French President Emmanuel Macron

© Irina Yakovleva/TASS

PARIS, March 15. /TASS/. French President Emmanuel Macron denied the assumption that there were some personal reasons behind his decision to refrain from dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"Undoubtedly, I am the head of the state that used to talk to him more than anyone else," Macron told the France 2 television. "There is nothing personal here. And I don’t want it to be personal, because it makes no sense. This is not fiction, not a novel, not a TV series."

He added that he had had several phone calls with the president of Russia at the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine.

Earlier, Putin said that Moscow was ready for contacts with Paris if the French side was interested. The Russian leader added that he used to have good working relations with the president of France, but Macron chose to end them.

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Vladimir Putin France Emmanuel Macron

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