It was the two leaders’ first call since 2022, and the Russian president’s first with any major European leader since last year.

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin had a "substantial" phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron on the Middle East crisis including Iran and the Ukraine conflict, the Kremlin said on Tuesday, their first such exchange since September 2022.

Emmanuel Macron and Vladimir Putin on Tuesday spoke by telephone for the first time in over two-and-a-half years, with the French president urging a ceasefire in Ukraine but the Russian leader hitting back that the West was to blame for the conflict.