Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a gathering with French President Emmanuel Macron in Moscow, Russia February 7, 2022. Sputnik/Kremlin through REUTERS/File Photograph
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PARIS, Feb 12 (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin gave no indication in a telephone name with French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday that he was getting ready to invade Ukraine, a French presidency official stated.
The 2 leaders spoke at a time of excessive rigidity over Russia’s massing of troops close to the Ukrainian border, with Washington saying on Friday that Moscow might invade at any second. Russia has denied it plans to invade.
“We see no indication in what President Putin says that he’s going to go on the offensive,” the official instructed reporters after Macron and Putin spoke on the telephone for almost 90 minutes.
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“We’re nonetheless extraordinarily vigilant and alert to the Russian (navy) posture with the intention to keep away from the worst.”
Individually, the Kremlin stated that Putin had highlighted throughout the name with Macron a “lack of a substantive response from america and NATO to well-known Russian initiatives”. This referred to a sequence of Russian safety calls for, together with that it bar Ukraine from ever becoming a member of NATO.
Putin and Macron additionally mentioned the scenario associated to “provocative speculations” round an allegedly deliberate Russian invasion, the Kremlin stated.
The Elysee official stated France advisable that French nationals keep away from journeys to Ukraine and preparations can be made for embassy employees and their households to depart the nation in the event that they needed.
The French ambassador would evaluate the scenario for the some 1,000 French nationals within the nation, a lot of whom maintain each French and Ukrainian citizenship, the official stated. America and lots of different nations have urged residents to depart Ukraine amid fears of an invasion.
Macron visited Moscow earlier this week after which and of their name on Saturday the 2 mentioned methods to maneuver ahead on the implementation of the Minsk Agreements on attaining peace in japanese Ukraine, as nicely situations for safety and stability in Europe, the Elysee stated individually in a press release.
Macron additionally spoke on Saturday with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in addition to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and was because of communicate with U.S. President Joe Biden.
Within the name with Zelenskiy, Macron restated his help for the Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, the Elysee stated.
Scholz is because of go to Kyiv on Monday adopted by Moscow on Tuesday, and the Elysee stated the French and German positions have been “completely aligned”.
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Reporting by Leigh Thomas
Extra reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin in Moscow, Pavel Polityuk in Kyiv and Andreas Rinke in Berlin
Enhancing by Richard Lough, Angus MacSwan and Frances Kerry
Our Requirements: The Thomson Reuters Belief Rules.
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