President Emmanuel Macron said Friday France was working with Turkey and Greece on a "humanitarian operation" to evacuate people from Mariupol, AFP reported.

"We are going to work with Turkey and Greece to launch a humanitarian operation to evacuate all those who wish to leave Mariupol," Macron said after an EU summit in Brussels.

"I will have a new discussion with (Russian) President Vladimir Putin within the next 48 to 72 hours to work out the details and secure the modalities," he said.

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The French leader said he hoped to “be able to involve the maximum number of stakeholders in this operation.”

He said that he wanted to be "in a position" to conduct the evacuation "in the next few days.”

Macron said that French officials had spoken Friday to the mayor of Mariupol and that the 150,000 remaining residents were left trapped in “dramatic conditions.”

He also commented on Russian President Vladimir Putin's demand to pay for gas in rubles, saying it was neither “possible” nor “contractual.”

"All signed texts are clear, it is forbidden. So European players who buy gas, and who are on European soil, must do so in euros. So it is not possible today to do what is requested, and it is not contractual."

Also Read: Russia will only accept payment in rubles for gas shipments to Europe: Putin

Wednesday, Putin said Russia will only accept payments in rubles for gas deliveries to "unfriendly countries", which include all EU members, after Moscow was hit by unprecedented sanctions over Ukraine.

"I have decided to implement a set of measures to transfer payment for our gas supplies to unfriendly countries into Russian rubles," Putin said during a televised government meeting, ordering the changes to be implemented within a week.