MOSCOW, March 17. /TASS/. French President Emmanuel Macron has said that he is ready to discuss ways of deescalating the Ukrainian crisis with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

"I will pick up the phone [if Putin calls]. Because I feel that this is my duty. And I will listen tp what he proposes. France’s role is to be the nerve of the war. On the one hand, we must give Ukraine everything it needs to enhance its defense capacities, but on the other hand, we must promote de-escalation. We need to reach a lasting fair peace. If he (Putin - TASS) happens to offer something, I will listen to his proposals," he said in an interview with Ukraine’s television.

Putin said earlier that Moscow is ready to cooperate with Paris if the latter is interested in this. According to the Russian president, he used to have good working relations with Macron but they were disrupted by the French leader.