WASHINGTON, February 7. /TASS/. The president of the US and France, Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron, on Sunday discussed the situation around Ukraine ahead of Macron’s visit to Moscow.

"The leaders discussed ongoing diplomatic and deterrence efforts in response to Russia’s continued military build-up on Ukraine’s borders," the White House said in a statement.

Biden and Macron previously spoke by phone on February 2.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to meet with the French counterpart in the Kremlin on Monday. The leaders, who spoke by phone three times over the past two weeks, plan to discuss many subjects, according to Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Macron plans to visit Ukraine on Tuesday. French Government Spokesperson Gabriel Attal said Macron’s visits to Moscow and Kiev will continue the efforts by Paris to de-escalate the situation around Ukraine.

There has been a flurry of statements in the West and Kiev lately that Russia could invade Ukraine. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said they were unsubstantiated escalation and that Russia doesn’t threaten anyone. At the same time, he didn’t rule out provocations to corroborate these Western statements and warned that the use of force to resolve the crisis in southeastern Ukraine will have serious consequences.