French President Emmanuel Macron asked Russia's Vladimir Putin again on Friday to use his influence to end the conflict in Syria and resume negotiations towards a political transition.
"The president underlined the need to put an end to the military escalation of recent months so as to protect civilian populations," the Elysee Palace said in a statement, adding that the two leaders had also discussed in a phone call the need to ensure there is no resurgence of ISIS in the region.
The Elysee said Macron hoped that regular dialogue between France and Russia might allow more concrete progress on finding a solution in Syria.
The Kremlin press service said in a statement that their telephone conversation focused on the latest developments in Eastern Ghouta.
“The focus was on the unprecedented large-scale operation to save civilians and withdraw militants not willing to lay down their arms," the statement said. "Russia emphasized the importance of consolidating the global community’s efforts to provide humanitarian aid to people in need across Syria in compliance with the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2401," it pointed out.
Putin also informed Macron about the decisions made at the April 4 Russian-Turkish-Iranian summit in Ankara.
"It was noted that there was a need to advance the political settlement process through implementing the decisions made at the Syrian national Dialogue Congress, as well as to promptly establish a United Nations sponsored Constitutional Committee," the Kremlin press service added.
