French President Emmanuel Macron pledged Monday to continue speaking to Vladimir Putin, despite having failed so far to influence the Russian president’s escalating attack on Ukraine.

Speaking on a TV show for French channel TF1 featuring his top rivals in April’s French presidential election, Macron said of his direct talks with Putin: “I won’t tell you that I’m satisfied with [the results], but we need to continue.”

Macron and Putin have spoken at least a dozen times in the last month, with the latest call taking place Saturday with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The flurry of phone calls has raised questions among critics as to whether Macron’s strategy may be misguided and risks fueling Russian propaganda as heavy bombings continue across Ukrainian cities.