WASHIGNTON, February 16. /TASS/. US President Joe Biden and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron had a phone conversation on Tuesday to discuss their latest contacts with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders, the White House said in a statement.
According to the document, the US and French presidents "reviewed their recent conversations with their Russian and Ukrainian counterparts, and affirmed their continued support for a diplomatic path forward."
Biden and Macron also "discussed ongoing diplomatic and deterrence efforts" over the situation surrounding Ukraine. The leaders also discussed their "readiness to impose severe consequences and to reinforce the defensive posture on NATO’s eastern flank."
According to an earlier White House report, the conversation started at 18:11 Moscow time and ended at 19:00 Moscow time. It was the third phone call of the US and Frenhch leaders this month.
Meanwhile, the French president’s administration said Macron "underscored the need to continue diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions and enable pacification, necessary for starting a serious dialogue, settling the Russian-Ukrainian crisis and addressing issues of European security."
The Elysee Palace press service said Macron also reiterated France’s commitment to "respect sovereignty and security of its partners and allies."
Biden, in turn, welcomed France’s efforts within the framework of the Normandy Quartet regarding the implementation of the Minsk Agreements. The leaders agreed to remain in close contact on the issue in the coming days, the French presidential administration said.
Macron flew to Moscow on February 7 for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which lasted more than five hours. Apart from a personal meeting, Macron and Putin held four lengthy phone talks in the past few weeks. On February 8, Macron flew from Moscow to Kiev, where he met with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky. They discussed European security in the context of proposals that the US and NATO provide security guarantees, as well as the Ukrainian internal crisis.
A phone conversation between Putin and Biden took place on February 12. Prior to that, the presidents talked by phone in late December 2021, and had a video conference call on December 17.
Concerns over Moscow’s alleged preparations for an invasion into Ukraine became more and more frequent in the West and in Kiev recently. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov castigated these statements as an empty and groundless escalation of tension, emphasizing that Russia posed no threat to anyone. At the same time, the Kremlin press secretary did not rule out possible provocations to justify such claims and warned that the attempts to resolve the Ukrainian conflict by force would carry extremely serious consequences.