French President Emmanuel Macron says he had convinced Russia’s Vladimir Putin not to escalate the crisis around Ukraine, ahead of talks in Kyiv aimed at defusing fears Moscow could invade.
Macron says he offered Putin concrete security guarantees as the West scrambles to deal with Russia’s massive troop build-up on Ukraine’s border.
He says several proposals put forward by Macron could form a basis for further steps on easing the crisis over Ukraine but did not give any details.
The French presidency says Macron’s counter-proposals include an engagement from both sides not to take any new military action, the launching of strategic dialogue and efforts to revive the peace process in Kyiv’s conflict with Moscow-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.