Macron urged Putin to ease tensions with Ukraine

French President Emmanuel Macron, in a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, urged him to reduce tensions with Ukraine, and also expressed "serious concern" over the health condition of imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, France 24 reports, citing Macron's Office.
"Macron also called on Putin" to work conscientiously and steadily to reduce tensions with Ukraine, "in particular by withdrawing troops and heavy weapons from the Ukrainian border," the France 24 article says.
In addition, the French president, in a conversation with Putin, insisted on the need to respect Navalny's "fundamental rights."