It was the two leaders’ first call since 2022, and the Russian president’s first with any major European leader since last year.

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin had a "substantial" phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron on the Middle East crisis including Iran and the Ukraine conflict, the Kremlin said on Tuesday, their first such exchange since September 2022.

French and Russian leaders agree the crisis around Iran’s nuclear program must be solved by diplomatic means alone.