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.

French President’s office says the conversation lasted two hours and that Macron called for a ceasefire in Ukraine and the start of negotiations on ending the conflict

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