French President Emmanuel Macron and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, held a telephone conversation on Monday to discuss the situation in the Ukraine region.
A senior official and a spokesman for the US State Department confirmed on Monday that they have received “a written follow-up from Russia” while negotiations with Ukraine continue, according to the US network CNN.
The follow-up document came a day after Washington responded to a list of Russian demands and ahead of a planned phone call between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday. .
“It would be unproductive to negotiate in public, so we will let Russia decide if it wants to discuss its response,” said the spokesman, adding that they remain “fully committed to dialogue” to address these issues and “consulting closely” with allies and partners.
According to CNN, the permanent representative of the United States to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, commented to journalists after the session, in which the US accused Russia of planning the concentration of tens of thousands of troops throughout the border between Belarus and Ukraine, that the United States “asked for this meeting to allow the Russians to give us an explanation of what their actions are.”
Russia already accumulates some 120,000 soldiers near the border with Ukraine and has called on NATO to withdraw its troops from the region and veto Ukraine as a future member.
Putin and Macron have a conversation
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, held a telephone conversation on Monday to discuss the situation in the Ukraine region. This is the second conversation between Macron and Putin in the last four days.
“The exchange of views on the situation around Ukraine and issues relating to the granting of legally enshrined long-term security guarantees to the Russian Federation continues,” the Kremlin press office reported.
Putin has outlined in detail his principled approaches on these issues, according to the Russian news agency Sputnik. In addition, both leaders have agreed to continue maintaining contact by phone and seek the possibility of holding a face-to-face meeting.
Both leaders have agreed to continue maintaining contact by phone and seek the possibility of holding a face-to-face meeting.
The Elysee has confirmed the contact and has highlighted the “positive progress in the Normandy format”, after the meeting held last Friday by diplomatic advisers. A meeting in Berlin with this format is scheduled for next week.
Lavrov and Blinken will talk today before the rise in tension
The Secretary of State of the United States and the Foreign Minister of Russia, Antony Blinken and Sergei Lavrov, respectively, will hold a telephone conversation on Tuesday, in the midst of an increase in tension between the parties in relation to Ukraine.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zajarova confirmed the information on Monday and ruled out a face-to-face meeting, according to information from the Sputnik news agency.
Kremlin spokesman Dimitri Peskov called on the US government on Monday to stop “exacerbating” tensions around Ukraine, stressing that the “hysteria promoted by Washington causes hysteria in Ukraine itself.” “It’s the dark side, very pernicious and damaging,” he added.
On the other hand, Peskov described as “very alarming” the announcement by the United Kingdom that London is considering confiscating properties from Russian businessmen in the face of growing tension.
“The London statement is very alarming,” Peskov said in an appearance before reporters. Thus, he stressed that the British authorities “are greatly exacerbating tensions.”
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