Ukraine crisis: Macron heads to Kyiv as French president and Putin pledge to speak again
Emmanuel Macron heads to Kyiv on Tuesday, a day after his long meeting with Vladimir Putin, as the diplomatic drive continues to defuse tensions in the military standoff between Russia and Ukraine.
The French president is due to meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Ukrainian capital before heading to Berlin to see Olaf Scholz, upon the German Chancellor's return from his visit to Washington.
Hoping to force a breakthrough in the East-West stalemate, Macron said "a number of propositions" had emerged from his talks in Moscow, which lasted several hours.
A "deterioration of the continent's stability" was in nobody's interest, he said, stressing the "necessity to work fast to avoid escalation".
According to the Elysée, Macron's proposals include a commitment by both sides to abstain from new military moves, to begin a dialogue on Russia's military capability and peace negotiations over the conflict in Ukraine, as well as on strategy.
"Building, together and in line with our fundamentals, concrete security guarantees for members of the European Union, for countries in the region -- Ukraine, Georgia, Belarus -- and Russia, is precisely the challenge we need to take up," Macron said, following his meeting with Putin.
"We had a conversation that saw a number of propositions emerge on which I think, between Russia and France, I can say we converge towards."
He added that France was pushing for existing accords to be respected and for a lasting solution to the crisis.
Seven years ago, France helped create a peace deal for eastern Ukraine in a bid to end fighting there. A conflict between Ukrainian government forces and Russia-backed separatists erupted in 2014 after Russia's annexation of Crimea.
Ahead of his trip to Kyiv, Macron
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