Live updates: follow the latest news on Russia-Ukraine
International powers must keep talking with Russia's President Vladimir Putin until he is ready to end his invasion of Ukraine, France's Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Sunday.
Mr Le Drian told a conference in Qatar that Mr Putin had not achieved any of his aims, but that there had to be a ceasefire around the bombarded Ukrainian city of Mariupol before there could be negotiations.
French President Emmanuel Macron plans to speak with Mr Putin this week about a ceasefire.
"We must keep talking with the Russians, we must continue to speak with President Putin precisely because he has not had the results he thought he would," Mr Le Drian told the Doha Forum.
He said the Russian invasion had united Ukraine and given a new impetus to the EU and Nato, while Russia was losing major markets for its energy exports.
The dialogue has to be "clear, with no naivety and a lot of firmness", Mr Le Drian said.
There has to be a ceasefire in Mariupol "as no one can negotiate seriously with a gun to the head", he said.
"But continue to speak to him so that when the time comes that he thinks the price being paid for his intervention in Ukraine is so high that it is better to negotiate, there is a way that allows the opening of discussions," Mr Le Drian said.
"It is for these reasons that President Macron continues to talk with President Putin, to obtain the conditions for a ceasefire first and negotiations after."
Mr Macron warned earlier against a verbal "escalation" of the conflict after US President Joe Biden called Mr Putin a "butcher" who "cannot remain in power".
The Kremlin said Mr Biden's comments threatened bilateral relations.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
Brief scores:
Pakistan (1st innings) 181: Babar 71; Olivier 6-37
South Africa (1st innings) 223: Bavuma 53; Amir 4-62
Pakistan (2nd innings) 190: Masood 65, Imam 57; Olivier 5-59
Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
The Bio
Ram Buxani earned a salary of 125 rupees per month in 1959
Indian currency was then legal tender in the Trucial States.
He received the wages plus food, accommodation, a haircut and cinema ticket twice a month and actuals for shaving and laundry expenses
Buxani followed in his father’s footsteps when he applied for a job overseas
His father Jivat Ram worked in general merchandize store in Gibraltar and the Canary Islands in the early 1930s
Buxani grew the UAE business over several sectors from retail to financial services but is attached to the original textile business
He talks in detail about natural fibres, the texture of cloth, mirrorwork and embroidery
Buxani lives by a simple philosophy – do good to all
