LONDON, February 21. /TASS/. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson welcomed the statements Russian President Vladimir Putin made in a telephone conversation with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron. This is stated in a communique issued by the office of the head of the British government following his telephone conversation with the French leader on Sunday.
"The Prime Minister noted that President Putin’s commitments to President Macron were a welcome sign that he (Putin - TASS) might still be willing to engage in finding a diplomatic solution. The Prime Minister stressed that Ukraine’s voice must be central in any discussions," the communique says. It is noted that Macron has informed Johnson about his conversation with Putin.
"The Prime Minister and President Macron agreed next week would be crucial for diplomacy and resolved to stay in close contact," according to the communique.
"The leaders agreed on the need for both Russia and Ukraine to meet their commitments under the Minsk Agreements in full. They also underscored the need for President Putin to step back from his current threats and withdraw troops from Ukraine’s border," Downing Street officials said.
"The Prime Minister and President Macron agreed next week would be crucial for diplomacy and resolved to stay in close contact," they added.
On Sunday, the Kremlin press service reported that during their phone conversation Putin and Macron have agreed that it is necessary to invigorate diplomatic efforts via the foreign ministries and political advisers of the countries of the Normandy format to find political solutions to the conflict in Donbass.
In turn, France Presse reported citing a Elysee Palace spokesperson that the French President has received an assurance from his Russian counterpart, that Russia will withdraw its troops from Belarus as soon as their joint drills are over.
The Elysee Palace said earlier that the two leaders agreed to organize a Trilateral Contact Group meeting to receive commitments to cease fire along the contact line in Donbass from all the sides.
The situation along the contact line in eastern Ukraine took a turn for the worse in the morning of February 17. The self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics report the most massive shelling by the Ukrainian military over the past months. There have been no reports of deaths, but one civilian woman was wounded and the shelling damaged some civilian facilities. Amid the mounting threat of combat actions, the self-proclaimed republics on Friday announced the evacuation of civilians to Russia.