Russia “moved” towards de-escalation of the situation around Ukraine after the talks between the Presidents of the Russian Federation and France, Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron. This is reported by the newspaper on February 8 Financial Times (FT), citing French sources.
The newspaper writes that “an agreement was reached not to undertake new military initiatives and to conduct a broad dialogue on the deployment of Russian troops.”
“… the agreement may also include the withdrawal of Russian forces from Belarus this month after the completion of large-scale joint exercises, in which a contingent of approximately 30 thousand people takes part,” the message says.
According to journalists, the agreement between the politicians will also lead to the continuation of the dialogue on collective security.
However, neither Putin nor Macron mentioned discussing the initiatives during the press conference after the meeting.
The talks between Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron took place on Monday, February 7, in Moscow. The conversation between the two leaders lasted more than five hours. The politicians began their conversation in the representative office of the first building of the Kremlin, and continued over a working lunch. The meeting ended around midnight, after which the presidents of Russia and France held a final press conference.
Meeting his French counterpart, President Putin noted that he had not seen Macron in person for two years, so there were many issues that could and should be discussed in a direct format. The French leader noted that a dialogue with Russia is necessary as the only way to ensure real stability and security for the European continent.
After meeting with the Russian President, the French leader intends to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev on February 8.
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