French President Emmanuel Macron said he wants to conduct a humanitarian operation to evacuate people from Mariupol together with Turkey and Greece. He said this after a meeting of the European Council, BfmTV reported.
"We are going to launch a humanitarian operation with Greece and Turkey to evacuate all those who want to leave Mariupol. We will organize everything in the best possible conditions. In this city of more than 400,000 people, another 150,000 residents live in catastrophic conditions," Macron said.
Le Figaro quoted Macron as saying that the evacuation should take place in the coming days.
"There have been specific discussions with the mayor of Mariupol. We are doing it transparently with President Zelensky and the Ukrainian authorities. And then we will negotiate with the Russian side. We are getting ready to do that in the next few days. I will have a new discussion with Vladimir Putin within 48 hours to clarify the details," the French president added.
He also added that he should raise the issue with Vladimir Putin.
Earlier, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said that he planned to personally accompany the humanitarian mission to Mariupol.
