Putin congratulates Macron for re-election as French president

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia congratulated Emmanuel Macron on Monday for his re-election as France's president after defeating Marine Le Pen, a far-right candidate many in Russia favored as a potentially game-changing option for the Kremlin amid the threat of new sanctions and in the midst of the war in Ukraine.

Mr. Putin said in a congratulatory note to Mr. Macron that he sincerely wishes you success in your state activities, as well as good health and well-being.

Mr. Macron is one of the few Western politicians willing to engage with Mr. Putin, relentlessly trying to push the Russian leader towards diplomacy. The Kremlin said that the two presidents had nine telephone conversations since the start of the war on February 24.

Ms. Macron has been bound by the French commitment to the trans-atlantic unity. Le Pen, his rival, was willing to weaken. Once the fighting in Ukraine stopped, Le Pen's National Rally party borrowed millions from a Russian bank over the past decade, said rapprochement with Russia would be her foreign policy priority.