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Russian, French top diplomats to speak over phone on Monday

The Kremlin press service said earlier on Sunday that the Russian and French presidents had a telephone conversation to exchange view on the situation around Ukraine and on long-term legally-binding security guarantees for Russia

MOSCOW, February 20. /TASS/. Russian and French Foreign Ministers (Sergey Lavrov and Jean-Yves Le Drian, will have a telephone conversation on Monday, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told TASS on Sunday.

"In compliance with agreements, Sergey Lavrov was ready to speak with the French counterpart today. Le Drian could not. So, a telephone contact is scheduled for Monday," she said.

"There are a lot of interpretations of the talks between President [of Russia Vladimir] Putin and President [of France Emmanuel] Macron. We would like to draw attention to the fact that everything the sides agreed on during the Russian-French top-level contacts is reflected in the Kremlin press service release," she said, commenting on the Elysee Palace’s information about an upcoming meeting between the top diplomats of the two countries.

The Kremlin press service said earlier on Sunday that the Russian and French presidents had a telephone conversation to exchange view on the situation around Ukraine and on long-term legally-binding security guarantees for Russia. The call was initiated by the French side. Putin and Macron agreed to continue contacts. "In view of the current situation, the presidents agreed that it would be expedient to invigorate efforts to find diplomatic solutions via the foreign ministries and political advisers of the Normandy Four nations. These contacts are geared to help restore the ceasefire and ensure progress in the settlement of the conflict around Donbass," the Kremlin press service said.

Meanwhile, the Elysee Palace said on Sunday the French and Russian top diplomats will hold talks within days to discuss the organization of a summit on a new security architecture in Europe that will involve Ukraine and a number of Western countries. These plans were announced after Sunday’s telephone talks between the two presidents.

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