Macron, after conversation with Putin, that conditions for evacuation of Mariupol residents not met now said - media

The conditions for a humanitarian operation in Mariupol are not met "at this stage", the Elysee Palace said after a telephone conversation between French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Le Monde reports.

According to the Elysee Palace following the conversation, the conditions for the start in the coming days of a humanitarian operation to provide assistance to the residents of the Ukrainian Mariupol, besieged by the Russian army for several weeks, "are not being fulfilled at this stage."

Thus, Macron voiced the evacuation operation proposed by France, Turkey and Greece to Putin, who said he was "going to think about it" before answering.

Putin said the Ukrainian forces defending Mariupol should surrender, according to a Kremlin statement following a phone call with Macron.