Emmanuel Macron Tells Vladimir Putin Europe’s ‘Concerns’ About Ukraine – The HuffPost

via Associated Press

POLITICS – Discussions continue, while the situation is tense on the side of Ukraine. This Saturday, February 12, Emmanuel Macron had a new telephone conversation with Vladimir Poutine on this burning file, indicates the Elysée. A discussion that lasted 1h40 and during which they discussed the “ways to move forward on the implementation of the Minsk Accords” as well as “the conditions of security and stability in Europe”.

Still according to the French presidency, Emmanuel Macron also “passed on the concerns of his European partners and his allies to his interlocutor”, in a context where several diplomats are leaving Ukraine in reason for tension and the escalation which seems to be dawning. A situation that the Head of State mentioned.

“Sincere dialogue”

“He told President Poutine that a sincere dialogue was not compatible with an escalation”, underlines the Élysée again. Despite several rounds of talks in recent days, no progress has made it possible to defuse the crisis, which has arisen from the deployment in recent months on the borders of Ukraine of more than 100,000 Russian soldiers with heavy weapons.

Tensions have been particularly exacerbated in recent hours, following the launch by Russia this Saturday of new large-scale naval exercises in the Black Sea, which is also conducting large-scale military exercises in Belarus, near the European Union and Ukraine .

An imminent invasion?

Latest episode, the statements of Antony Blinken, Secretary of State of the United States, who declared this Friday, February 11 that the Russian invasion of Ukraine could occur “at any time”, even during the Beijing Olympics.

In doing so, Washington also called on American citizens to leave Ukraine as soon as possible, a call which was followed by many other countries, including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Canada, and Australia. , Japan and Israel.

“Provocative speculations”, replied Vladimir Poutine to Emmanuel Macron during this interview. “The propaganda campaign launched by the United States and its allies on ‘Russian aggression’ against Ukraine is aimed at provocation, encouraging the authorities in Kiev” to embark on a “military resolution of the Donbass problem” , Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had already replied in a statement.

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