Macron urges Putin to avoid attacking nuclear plants in Ukraine

By Shweta Desai

PARIS (AA) - French President Emmanuel Macron spoke by phone with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, raising grave concerns over risks to nuclear security and an imminent attack on the historic port city of Odessa by Russian forces in Ukraine, the Elysee Palace said in a statement Sunday.

“He underlined the absolute necessity of avoiding any attack on the integrity of Ukrainian civil nuclear installations, the security and safety of which must be guaranteed by the rules of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),” the statement said.

Putin agreed that the work of protecting the nuclear sites should be undertaken without delay by the IAEA, it added.

He also reportedly assured Macron that he had no intention of attacking nuclear plants and denied that Russian forces were targeting civilians, said Elysee officials, according to a report by BFMTV news.

On Friday, Macron proposed to draft a safety plan for protecting Ukraine's five main nuclear sites based on IAEA technical criteria after Russian forces seized the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and fired missiles at the site during fighting with Ukrainian forces. Although there was no radioactive leakage, the IAEA and the international community have expressed concerns over such a risk during the war.

The latest call between the two leaders lasted around one hour and 45 minutes and marked the fourth time they had spoken since Russia launched its war on Ukraine on Feb. 24.

Since the conflict began escalating last November, Macron has personally tried to mediate and even traveled to Moscow and Kyiv to find a solution through negotiations.

During the latest call, he reiterated the importance of negotiations and reaching an agreement that is fully acceptable to Ukraine. Putin is believed to have told Macron that he will achieve his goals "either through negotiations or through war," according to BFMTV news, which quoted Elysee officials.

Macron also urged Putin to respect international humanitarian laws, protect civilian populations and allow aid deliveries in areas encircled by Russian forces. The UN estimates that more than 1.5 million civilians have fled the country and many more are likely to leave as bombing from Russian advances intensifies in the coming weeks.

In his latest address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that the Russian military is gearing up to bomb Odessa, with a population of over a million, which he said would constitute a war crime.

The port city on the Black Sea was the site of a mutiny in 1905 by the crew of the Russian battleship Potemkin against its officers. The event, which is now considered the precursor to the 1917 Russian Revolution, was immortalized in cinema history by Sergei Eisenstein's 1925 silent film Battleship Potemkin. The city also boasts the iconic Potemkin Stairs, a 142-meter-long staircase built between 1837 and 1841.