Paris – AFP
French President Emmanuel Macron warned his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on Saturday, during a phone call, that an honest dialogue was incompatible with a military escalation on the Ukrainian border, according to what the Elysee announced.
The French presidency indicated that the two leaders spoke for an hour and 40 minutes as part of diplomatic efforts to dissuade Putin from invading Ukraine.
US President Joe Biden is supposed to speak to the Russian president later Saturday.
The Elysee stated that Macron and Putin expressed their desire to continue dialogue on ways to advance the implementation of the Minsk Agreement in eastern Ukraine, and the conditions for security and stability in Europe.
He added that the French president conveyed the concerns of his European partners and allies.
For his part, Putin told his French counterpart Macron that accusing Western countries of planning to invade Ukraine amounted to “provocative speculation,” according to a Kremlin statement..
“Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron discussed the situation related to provocative speculations regarding the alleged Russian invasion of Ukraine, which is associated with the supply of this country with advanced weapons on a large scale,” the Russian presidency said in its statement.
On Friday, the United States confirmed that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could happen at any time, accusations that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov described as provocations.
This call between Macron and Putin comes as a continuation of the five-hour visit made by the French President on Monday to the Kremlin, before he traveled to Kiev on Tuesday to hold talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and then to Berlin.
The Elysee had indicated that this diplomatic tour had achieved its goal of moving forward in reducing tension between Russia and Ukraine.
On Saturday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken stressed that the diplomatic path is still open to avoid a conflict in Ukraine, but that it requires de-escalation from Moscow.
Meanwhile, the United States ordered a near-total withdrawal of the remaining American soldiers in Ukraine; They are training Ukrainian forces with the aim of redeploying them to other locations in Europe, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby announced on Saturday.
Kirby said, in a statement, that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made the decision regarding the 160 members of the Florida National Guard out of precaution, in the interest of their safety and security.
For his part, Lavrov accused Washington of seeking to provoke a conflict in Ukraine by accusing Moscow of preparing for a military operation.
Several Western countries have asked their nationals to leave Ukraine, while Moscow has announced that it will reduce the number of its diplomatic staff there, citing possible provocations from the West or from Kiev.