Macron to share his vision of Ukrainian de-escalation with Putin
The Elysee Palace source said that the French president will propose a path towards de-escalation to his Russian counterpart
PARIS, January 24. /TASS/. French President Emmanuel Macron is set to share his vision of Ukrainian de-escalation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin soon, Agence France-Presse reported on Monday citing a presidential administration source.
"The president will propose a path towards de-escalation to his Russian counterpart, during a phone conversation to take place in coming days," the Elysee Palace source said. "We are concerned about the situation and want to avoid more instability."
The source also confirmed that a four-way meeting of political advisers from the Normandy Quartet members (France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine) is scheduled to take place in Paris on January 26. The Russian delegation will be led by the Kremlin’s Deputy Chief of Staff Dmitry Kozak.
Sources in the French leader’s administration said earlier in the day that Macron would attend a video call, organized by US President Joe Biden to discuss the situation around Ukraine. The conference is scheduled to begin at 21:00 Paris time (23:00 Moscow time).
The video call is expected to be attended by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and the leaders of the UK, Italy, Poland, France and Germany. It will be closed for the media.
The West and Kiev have recently been spreading allegations about Russia’s potential ‘invasion’ of Ukraine. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov castigated these claims as "empty and unfounded", serving as a ploy to escalate tensions, pointing out that Russia did not pose any threat whatsoever to anyone. However, Peskov did not rule out the possibility of provocations aimed at justifying such allegations and warned that attempts to use military force to resolve the crisis in southeastern Ukraine would have serious consequences.