France, Turkey and Greece will jointly carry out “a humanitarian operation” to evacuate “in the very next few days” from the besieged city of Mariupol, in southern Ukraine, announced this Friday evening French President Emmanuel Macron.
“We are going in conjunction with Turkey and Greece to launch a humanitarian operation to evacuate all those who wish to leave Mariupol,” he said after a European summit in Brussels.
“In 48 to 72 hours, I will have a new discussion with (Russian) President Vladimir Putin to properly determine the details and secure the terms,” said the French head of state. Adding: “I hope to be able to engage as many stakeholders as possible in this operation” to ensure that I am “able” to conduct this evacuation “in the very next few days”.
More than 2,000 civilians killed
The Head of State also affirmed that the “Elysée teams” had exchanged on Friday with the mayor of Mariupol, “a city of more than 400,000 inhabitants which today only has 150,000 inhabitants” living “in dramatic situation”.
More than 2,000 civilians were killed in Mariupol, according to a latest report communicated by the town hall. According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, some 100,000 people are still stranded in this strategic port on the Sea of Azov which is besieged by Russian troops.
