"I have lost track of the conversations that I have had with Vladimir Putin since December. About 100 hours in total," Macron told the Ouest France newspaper.
The French president noted that he never concealed his talks with the Russian leader, adding that he communicated with Putin at the request of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Macron further expressed his opinion that the role of Paris in this conflict is to be the "mediating power."
"Russia must not be humiliated so that we could find a way out [of the conflict in Ukraine] through diplomacy the day the hostilities stop," the president concluded.
On February 24, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk requested help to defend them from attacks by Ukrainian troops, resulting in several waves of anti-Russian sanctions in a variety of spheres.
Macron and Putin had repeatedly held telephone conversations on the matter before and after the beginning of the military operation.