During the phone conversation, made public in a documentary by the France 2 television station, the Russian president said he would rather play ice hockey than meet Joe Biden, his American counterpart, for the latest peace talks. The publication of the February 20 call has strained relations between Mr Putin and Mr Macron and Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, made his irritation clear. “I think that diplomatic ethics, of course, does not entail such a one-sided leak of files,” Mr. Lavrov told reporters. “In principle, we lead the negotiations in such a way that we are never embarrassed. We always say what we think and we are ready to answer for those words and explain our position.”
“I wanted to go play ice hockey”
Macron thought he would be able to dissuade Putin from launching his invasion of Ukraine in February and spent hours calling him in a diplomatic push that he also wanted to be recorded. He called in a camera crew from France 2 to film one of the phone conversations taking place, but did not appear to tell Putin that the call was being recorded. The nine-minute phone call was the centerpiece of a France 2 documentary about how Macron tried and failed to divert Putin from the war. In it, the French president suggests that Putin hold a summit with Mr. Biden. Putin is noncommittal, saying he should be fully prepared. However, almost as an afterthought, the Russian president adds: “To be honest, I wanted to go play ice hockey. Here I am talking to you from the sports hall before you start physical exercise. But first I will talk to my advisors.” Putin also accuses Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, of coming to power in a bloody coup. Four days after the call, Russia invaded Ukraine.
