By Agnes Szucs
BRUSSELS (AA) – President of the European Council Charles Michel held on Monday a phone talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
According to a read-out of the conversation published by the EU institution, Michel, who presides over the meeting of EU leaders, conveyed the conclusion of last month’s EU summit to Putin in which the bloc “condemned the illegal, provocative and disruptive Russian activities against the EU, its member states and others.”
Michel also explained to Putin that the EU supported “Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity,” and reminded Russia of complying with the Minsk agreements.
The leaders also talked about the forced diversion of the Ryanair flight to Minsk and the closure of EU airspace to Belarusian carriers as a retaliation to the incident.
Michel repeated the EU’s position, calling on the Belarusian authorities to release political prisoners and stop repressions. He suggested Russia to support national dialogue between the Belarusian government and the opposition for a peaceful settlement of the crisis.
Michel and Putin also discussed the situation in Libya, the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccinations.
