On February 20, Putin and Macron talked on the phone for almost two hours. They talked about how to “avoid a major war in Europe while the West fears more than ever a Russian invasion of Ukraine,” BFM TV reported, citing information from the Elysee Palace.
During the conversations, Putin and Macron agreed to organize a meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine. At it, the parties must reaffirm their commitment to a ceasefire on the line of contact in the Donbass. The meeting could take place on Monday Reuters referring to an unnamed adviser to the President of France.
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The presidents also agreed to resume work in the Normandy format, consider Ukraine’s proposals and achieve a diplomatic solution to the crisis in eastern Ukraine. In turn, Putin announced the “pumping up” of Ukraine with weapons and noted that this was pushing Kiev towards a military solution to the conflict.
Ukraine reported loss of up to $3 billion a month due to invasion publications
Macron, in turn, invited Putin and US President Joe Biden to hold a summit on security in Europe. They agreed, the Élysée reported. The Kremlin noted that there are no specific plans for a summit meeting yet. “I can say that a substantive understanding has been reached that it is necessary to continue the dialogue at the ministerial level,” said presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
The situation in Donbass escalated in mid-February. The parties began to accuse each other of pulling weapons to the line of contact and shelling. The authorities of the self-proclaimed republics said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are preparing for an attack on the Donbass. Kiev has repeatedly denied plans to return uncontrolled territories by force and accused the DPR and LPR of disinformation with the aim of escalation.