(ANSA-AFP) - WASHINGTON, DEC 1 - French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday he would speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin soon, expressing hope that negotiations over ending the war in Ukraine were "still possible." On an official trip to Washington, Macron said he planned to talk with his Russian counterpart "in the coming days." "I want first to have this state visit and have in-depth discussion with President Biden and our teams together," the French president told ABC's "Good Morning America" show that aired shortly before Macron was welcomed at the White House by President Joe Biden. Macron has engaged multiple times with Putin, who has become a pariah to the West for launching an invasion of neighbor Ukraine in February that has cost thousands of lives. "My conviction and my pragmatic approach is to say, I have to engage with the existing leaders and the one in charge of the country," Macron said.

(ANSA-AFP).