Western world leaders are constantly trying to avoid a major conflict with
Russia over Ukraine. After previously British Prime Minister Boris Johnson
made diplomatic efforts, now it's French President Emmanuel Macron's turn.
France's presidential office said Emmanuel Macron would meet with Russian
leader Vladimir Putin in Moscow on February 7 and Ukrainian leaders on
February 8 to discuss the situation on the two countries' borders.
This came as Macron said finding a path of dialogue towards reducing
tensions in Ukraine was a priority, even as the United States said it would
send an additional 3,000 troops to Poland and Romania as Russia regrouped in
Russia. near Ukraine.
Macron had previously held separate phone calls with the leaders of Russia
and Ukraine on Thursday to try to make progress on the status of the Donbass
region as part of efforts to defuse tensions, Macron's office said in a
statement.
The statement also said Macron had underlined to Russia's Vladimir Putin and
Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky of the importance of discussing conditions for
achieving a strategic balance in Europe that would allow for the reduction
of tensions on the ground and ensure security on the continent.
Earlier, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had accelerated his diplomatic
efforts to prevent the bloodshed by visiting Ukraine and speaking by
telephone with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The latest attempt by Western leaders to defuse tensions on the Ukrainian
border comes as the US says Russia has prepared Operation False Flag as an
excuse to attack Ukraine.
The US says Russia has formulated several options as a pretext for attacking
Ukraine, including the potential use of propaganda videos showing a staged
attack, as the Kremlin condemns the deployment of American troops in the
region.
