Vladimir Putin tells Emmanuel Macron the West must stop supplying weapons to Ukraine

Emmanuel Macron has spent hours speaking to the Russian leader, trying to negotiate a resolution to the conflict

Russian President Vladimir Putin. Sputnik / AP

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Russian President Vladimir Putin told French leader Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday that the West must stop supplying weapons to Ukraine, and accused Kyiv of not taking negotiations seriously, the Kremlin said.

Mr Putin accused Ukrainian forces of committing war crimes and claimed the EU was ignoring them.

"The West could help stop these atrocities by putting relevant pressure on the Kyiv authorities, as well as halting the supply of weapons to Ukraine," he said.

Mr Putin also said Kyiv was not being consistent or ready for "serious work" on ending the conflict.

"The Russian side is still open to dialogue," he told Mr Macron, the Kremlin said.

Mr Macron's office said that beyond repeating calls on Russia to end the assault on its neighbour with a ceasefire and peace talks, he urged Mr Putin to allow evacuations from the besieged Azovstal steel plant in the port city of Mariupol to continue.

He also offered to "work with the relevant international organisations to help lift the Russian blockade on Ukrainian food exports via the Black Sea, given its consequences for global food security".

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  A woman rescues some of her belongings from her house in Irpin, near Kyiv, which was nearly completely destroyed by Russian bombing in late March. AP

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  A driver helps a woman board a bus at a reception centre for displaced people in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. AP

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  People fleeing Mariupol's Azovstal plant arrive on buses at a registration and processing area for internally displaced people in Zaporizhzhia. AFP

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  A woman stands next to her home in Irpin, near Kyiv, after it was nearly completely destroyed by Russian bombing. AP

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  People hold banners and shout slogans during a demonstration in support of Mariupol defenders in Kyiv, Ukraine. Getty Images

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  A woman stands near her house that was destroyed by shelling in Sloboda, Chernihiv region, Ukraine. Reuters

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  A mother and child in Lviv, Ukraine, wait to board transport destined for Przemysl, Poland. Getty Images

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  President Volodymyr Zelenskiy claps as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson addresses the Ukrainian Parliament in Kyiv via videolink. Reuters

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  Firefighters work to extinguish flames after a Russian bombardment at a park in Kharkiv, Ukraine. AP Photo

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  The television tower is illuminated in the national colors of the Ukrainian flag to show solidarity with the country at the Olympic Park in Munich, southern Germany. AFP

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  Flooded gardens and fields are shown in Demydiv, Ukraine. To keep Russian armoured columns at bay, Ukrainian forces released water from a nearby hydroelectric dam to intentionally flood Demydiv, a village north of Kyiv. The decision was effective, but efforts to drain the area are complicated. Getty Images

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  A damaged Orthodox icon is seen in the corner of local resident Yurii's heavily damaged house in Fenevychi, Ukraine. Getty Images

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  Valentyna, 71, stands by her cat, who was injured in the fighting, in Fenevychi. Getty Images

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  Yurii, 53, stands in his heavily damaged house in Fenevychi. Getty Images

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  Evacuees from the eastern Ukraine city of Lyman, which has suffered heavy shelling, ride on a bus in Raihorodok. AFP

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  A man delivers loaves of bread to a woman in the eastern Ukraine city of Lyman. AFP

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  Nazar, right, boards a bulletproof bus to evacuate with his family from the eastern Ukraine city of Lyman. AFP

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  A dog chases a hare by the wall of a burnt house in Fenevychi. Getty Images

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  Nine-year-old Galina, right, and Nazar, 8, arrive with their families in Raihorodok. AFP

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  Natalia Pototska, 43, cries as her grandson Matviy looks on in Zaporizhzhia. AP

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  Hryhorii, a member of the Ukrainian military meets his wife Oksana, who fled from the Russian-occupied Novomykhailivka village, at the evacuation point in Zaporizhzhia. EPA

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  Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy welcomes Denmark's Minister of Foreign Affairs Jeppe Kofod to Kyiv. Reuters

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  Buildings destroyed by Russian shelling in Borodianka, in Ukraine's Kyiv region. Reuters

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  Volunteers carry an elderly woman in a blanket during the evacuation of a frontline village retaken by Ukrainian forces in Kharkiv. Reuters

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  A Ukrainian man walks past the turret of a Russian tank next to a destroyed petrol station in the village of Skybyn, north-east of Kyiv. AFP

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  Andrii Fedorov hugs his son Makar as they are reunited in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, after the boy and his mother fled besieged Mariupol. AP

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  Volunteers at the Help Ukraine Center in Lublin, south-eastern Poland. More than 3 million Ukrainian refugees are now in Poland. EPA

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  Police officers deliver loaves of bread to residents in the eastern Ukrainian city of Lyman, which is being heavily shelled. AFP

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  Savelii, 10, mourns at the grave of his father, who died protecting his city as a member of the Territorial Defence, in Irpin, Ukraine. EPA

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  Ukrainian soliders ride on a truck to a resting place after fighting in the front line for two months near Kramatorsk. AFP

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  A shopkeeper clears shelves before closing up in Sviatohirsk, eastern Ukraine, amid the Russian invasion. AFP

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  Civilians who left the area near Azovstal steel plant as part of an evacuation of Mariupol arrive at temporary accommodation in Bezimenne, Donetsk region. Reuters

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  Azovstal steel plant employee Valeria, who was part of an evacuation of Mariupol, hugs her son Matvey, who had earlier left the city with his relatives, as they meet again in Bezimenne, Donetsk. Reuters

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  A pro-Russian troop stands guard in Bezimenne, Donetsk. Reuters

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  A picture taken during a visit to Mariupol organised by the Russian military shows Russian serviceman on patrol outside the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station in Enerhodar, south-eastern Ukraine. EPA

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  A woman is assisted during the UN-led evacuation of the Azovstal steel plant, after nearly two months of siege warfare on Mariupol by Russia. Reuters

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  Civilians gather for humanitarian aid, distributed by the Donetsk People Republic Emergency Situations Ministry in Berdyansk, in territory under the government of the Donetsk People's Republic, eastern Ukraine. AP

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  Ukrainian servicemen are seen near a T-80 tank captured from Russian troops in Kharkiv region. Reuters

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  A Ukrainian soldier takes a break from the conflict and tries to pet a stork in Barvinkove, Kharkiv region. Reuters

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  A satellite image shows damage at the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol, Ukraine. AP

Mr Putin linked the food situation to western sanctions against Russia and "noted the importance of the unimpeded functioning of the global logistics and transport infrastructure", the Kremlin said.

Mr Macron is one of the few western leaders to speak to Mr Putin since Moscow moved troops into Ukraine on February 24. He has spent hours on calls trying to negotiate a resolution to the conflict.

The war has killed thousands of people and displaced more than 13 million, creating the worst refugee crisis in Europe since the Second World War.