MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin and French counterpart Emmanuel Macron held their first known telephone conversation since 2022, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.
“Vladimir Putin held a telephone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron,” the Kremlin said in a statement, making it their first such conversation since September 2022, several months after Russia launched its full-scale offensive on Ukraine.
Macron urged Putin on Tuesday in a two-hour call to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine “as soon as possible”.
Macron “emphasised France’s unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” and “called for the establishment, as soon as possible, of a ceasefire and the launch of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia for a solid and lasting settlement of the conflict,” the Elysee Palace said.
On Iran, “the two presidents decided to coordinate their efforts and to speak soon in order to follow up together on this issue,” the French presidency added.
Putin, Macron hold first phone call since 2022, talked about Ukraine, Iran
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Putin, Macron hold first phone call since 2022, talked about Ukraine, Iran
Danish veterans stage protest outside US Embassy
COPENHAGEN: Hundreds of Danish veterans, many of whom fought alongside US troops, staged a silent protest Saturday outside the US Embassy in Copenhagen in response to the Trump administration’s threats to take over Greenland and belittling their combat contributions.
“Denmark has always stood side by side with the USA — and we have showed up in the world’s crisis zones when the USA has asked us to. We feel let down and ridiculed by the Trump Administration, which is deliberately disregarding Denmark’s combat side by side with the USA,” Danish Veterans & Veteran Support said in a statement.
“Words cannot describe how much it hurts us that Denmark’s contributions and sacrifices in the fight for democracy, peace and freedom are being forgotten in the White House,” it said.
Veterans first gathered at a monument honoring fallen Danish service members then began marching to the nearby US Embassy, where they will observe five minutes of silence — one each for Denmark’s army, air force, navy, emergency management agency and police.
Danish veterans are furious at how the White House rhetoric disregards the right to self-determination of Greenland, a territory of NATO ally Denmark. They also strongly object to Trump’s claim that Denmark is incapable of protecting the West’s security interests in the Arctic.
Forty-four Danish soldiers were killed in Afghanistan, the highest per capita death toll among coalition forces. Eight more died in Iraq.
Tensions were further inflamed Tuesday when 44 Danish flags — one for every Danish soldier killed in Afghanistan — that had been placed in front of the embassy were removed by embassy staff.
The State Department later said that, as a general rule, guard staff remove items left behind following demonstrations and other “legitimate exercises of free speech.” The flags were returned to those who left them, it said.
