Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron have spoken in a phone call after a period of silence between the two leaders stretching almost three years, in a move that may mark a shift in a famously fraught relationship.

It was the two leaders’ first call since 2022, and the Russian president’s first with any major European leader since last year.

The Kremlin said on Wednesday that it was France that asked for French President Emmanuel Macron to speak by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin after a pause of nearly three years and that the two leaders had a "very substantive" discussion.