Russia-Ukraine war: Russia responds after Vladimir Putin call with Emmanuel Macron leaked

The top-secret call took place between Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron in February. Photo / AP

Russian authorities are scrambling after a top-secret call between President Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron was leaked.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the publication of the call, in which the two presidents opened fire in a barrage of words, was a breach of "diplomatic etiquette".

"Diplomatic etiquette does not provide for unilateral leaks of (such) recordings," Lavrov said on a trip to Vietnam.

The details of the confidential call days before Moscow's military operation in Ukraine were revealed by the broadcaster France 2 in a documentary on the French president's handling of the conflict. The call is said to have taken place on February 20.

The French president was reportedly enraged with Putin's suggestion France should negotiate with pro-Russian separatists residing in Ukraine.

"I don't know where your lawyers learned the law!" Macron reportedly told Putin. "It is not separatists who are going to make proposals on Ukrainian laws."

"Of course, we have a completely different reading of the situation," Putin replied.

"I don't know what jurist will be able to tell you that in a sovereign country, the texts of laws are proposed by separatist groups and not by the democratically elected authorities," Macron replied.

Putin shot back: "This is not a democratically elected government. They came to power in a coup, there were people burned alive, it was a bloodbath and Zelenskyy is one of those responsible."

The day after the call, Russia recognised the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic. Three days after that, Russia invaded Ukraine.

In the call, Macron also calls for both sides to "calm down" and suggest Putin pencil in a meeting with US President Joe Biden or at least release a press release saying they would hold talks.

But Putin dismissed Macron, saying he'd prefer to go to the gym.

"To be honest with you, I wanted to go play ice hockey because here I'm talking to you from the gym before starting physical exercises. I'll call my advisers first," Putin says.

Lavrov said Russia had nothing to be ashamed of from the content of the conversation between the two leaders.

"We in principle lead negotiations in such a way that we never have anything to be ashamed of. We always say what we think and are ready to answer for these words and explain our position," he said.

Lavrov is on a two-day visit to Vietnam, on the tenth anniversary of the two nations' "comprehensive strategic partnership".

Vietnam, historically close to Moscow, has so far declined to outright condemn Russia's military intervention in Ukraine.