By Ben Kerrigan-
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron have both agreed on the need to “prioritize a diplomatic solution” to the crisis over Ukraine and secure a ceasefire in the east of the country, according to sources.
President Emmanuel Macron and Mr Putin also agreed that foreign ministers from both countries would meet “in the coming days”.
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Moscow has denied allegations from Westerns sources that they are planning an imminent invasion of Ukraine, but has amassed tens of thousands of troops on Ukraine’s borders.
The French president confirmed that a second phone call between Mr Macron and Mr Putin took place, following a conversation between Mr Macron and US President Joe Biden.
Mr Macron proposed a summit between Mr Biden and Mr Putin, the statement said, and both leaders had accepted the basis of such a meeting to be that Russia does not invade Ukraine.
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Details are to be discussed during a meeting between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, on Thursday.
Mr Putin has reportedly blamed the Ukrainian military for the escalation of tensions, but Ukraine claims Moscow is engaged in a provocation campaign aimed at creating a pretext for an intervention.
The French presidency said both leaders agreed to resume talks through the Normandy Format, a group created to resolve the conflict in the Donbas that includes Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany.
Mr Macron’s office also said “intense work” would be carried out to enable a meeting “in the next few hours” to try to secure a ceasefire in the Donbas.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Mr Putin’s commitments to Mr Macron were a “welcome sign” he might still “engage in finding a diplomatic solution”. But Mr Johnson called on Mr Putin to “step back from his current threats and withdraw troops from Ukraine’s border”.
Earlier, Russia announced the extension of military drills in Belarus, where 30,000 Russian troops are deployed, that were due to end on Sunday. A Belarusian statement blamed the “deterioration of the situation” in eastern Ukraine as one reason for extending the exercises.
US company Maxar released new satellite images showing multiple new field deployments of armoured equipment and troops from Russian garrisons near the border with Ukraine, indicating increased military readiness. The US estimates Russia has mustered up to 190,000 troops around Ukraine, including separatist forces in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Speaking on CNN, Secretary Blinken said “everything we are seeing suggests that this is dead serious” and that “we are on the brink of an invasion”.
“Until the tanks are actually rolling, and the planes are flying, we will use every opportunity and every minute we have to see if diplomacy can still dissuade President Putin from carrying this forward,” he added..
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