The French government announced that President Emmanuel Macron proposed a meeting between the President of the United States, Joe Biden, and Russia, Vladimir Putin, on Sunday night (20) to deal with the crisis with Ukraine. According to the Elysee PalaceThe French official residence, both accepted the dome.
According to the French government, the condition of the meeting is that Russia does not invade Ukraine. The French statement also said that Macron had spoken with Putin and Biden and that a meeting between the Russian and American, “with all interested parties on security and strategic stability in Europe”, could take place.
The White House confirmed that the US President and the French spoke today. According to the statement, they discussed “ongoing diplomacy and deterrence efforts in response to Russia’s military build-up on Ukraine’s borders.”
Macron and Putin held talks again for an hour tonight. It was his second communication of the day to discuss the crisis in Ukraine, announced the Elysee Palace. In the first phone call, as part of a discussion between heads of state to try to avoid armed conflict in eastern Ukraine, the French and Russians spoke for nearly two hours. There is no information about what the two talked about during the second call.
In the first call this morning, Putin and Macron agreed to work to find a diplomatic solution and avoid conflict in Ukraine, according to a statement released by the French government.
According to the statement, the leaders agreed to “work intensively” to allow a tripartite meeting to be held “with the aim of obtaining commitments from all sides to a ceasefire on the line of contact” in the coming hours.
The statement said the two leaders understand that “a diplomatic solution to the current crisis needs to be prioritized and every effort is made to achieve it.”
According to the French government, the Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Yves Le Drian, is due to meet with Russia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov in Paris.
The statement said the talks should “allow progress” to reach a “meeting at the highest level with a view to defining a new order of peace and security in Europe”.
“In carrying out this task in the gravest circumstances, the two heads of state are firmly committed to taking all useful measures to prevent (tension between Russia and Ukraine), reduce risks and maintain peace,” he said. He concluded.
Putin today blamed the Ukrainian government’s “provocation” for escalating conflict with separatists in eastern Ukraine and said he wanted to “intensify” diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict.
According to the Kremlin, Putin also urged during the phone call with Macron that NATO and the United States “take Russia’s security demands seriously.”
Russia and Belarus continue military exercises
The talks between the presidents parallel an announcement made by the Belarusian government about continuing joint military exercises with Russia, despite forecasts for the end of today.
“In connection with the increase in military activity near the country’s external borders and the worsening situation in the Donbass, the presidents of Belarus and the Russian Federation have decided to continue testing the response of state forces,” Khrenin said in a statement. Posted by folder on Telegram channel.
Belarus’ announcement comes amid heightened tensions in Eastern Europe and fears in the West that Russia will invade Ukraine. Russia would have assembled a contingent of 150,000 men on the country’s borders.
Moscow denies any plans in this regard, but seeks “guarantees” for its security, in particular the promise that Kiev will never join NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), and several military exercises in the region. have done.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in an interview yesterday that “all signs indicate that Russia is planning an all-out attack on Ukraine”.
Moscow claims to withdraw troops from its borders with Ukraine and refuses to invade the neighboring country, but NATO countries view the statements with skepticism. Stoltenberg and US President Joe Biden both believe the Vladimir Putin-led country is creating tensions in different regions to create an opportunity to attack Ukraine.
Yesterday, NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told German ARD television that “all signs indicate that Russia is planning an all-out attack on Ukraine”.
*with AFP
