Zelenskyy urges France to enforce planned evacuation corridors

PARIS (AA) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged France to continue diplomatic efforts with Russia to enforce its planned humanitarian corridors after Moscow’s evacuation plan failed to let civilians out of the besieged city of Mariupol.

“The initiative of France on humanitarian corridors from Mariupol must be implemented,” Zelenskyy told French President Emmanuel Macron in the latest phone call.

He also discussed the negotiations process with Russia and “the course and prospects of the importance of security guarantees.”

Officials from the French Presidency told that Zelenskyy also appealed to Macron to work with Moscow for a longer humanitarian truce. The report said that Macron reaffirmed French efforts for a cease-fire and resettling of displaced civilians within Ukraine.

France this week called off the joint humanitarian operation with Turkiye and Greece and international organizations to evacuate the civilians in the southeastern city of Mariupol after Russian President Vladimir Putin deemed it was not possible to implement the plan “at this stage.”

Moscow on its part announced a local cease-fire and a humanitarian corridor from Mariupol to Zaporizhzhya via the Russian-controlled port of Berdyansk from April 1 at 10 a.m under the aegis of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross. However, the Red Cross later announced it was “impossible” to evacuate Mariupol.

Sergei Orlov, deputy mayor of Mariupol, also lamented about the failure of the evacuation process. He accused Russia of blocking humanitarian convoys, preventing Ukrainians from entering the city, or allowing the trapped residents to leave.

Orlov described the critical situation of the 150,000 inhabitants who are left to starve with a shortage of food, water, and medicine, as shelling by Russian forces has left the city in ruins.