The United States on Monday said that president Joe Biden will meet Russian president Vladimir Putin only if Russia does not invade Ukraine. France was seen leading the discussions to avert an all-out war between Ukraine and Russia as French president Emmanuel Macron spoke to Putin where it was agreed ‘in principle’ that the leaders of the US and Russia will meet at a summit.
Macron’s meeting with Putin is being seen as a last-ditch effort to prevent a European war. “The President of the Republic spoke with the President of the United States, Mr. Joe Biden and the President of the Russian Federation, Mr. Vladimir Putin. He proposed a summit to be held between President Biden and President Putin and then with relevant stakeholders to discuss security and strategic stability in Europe. Presidents Biden and Putin have both accepted the principle of such a summit,” a statement by the French presidency said.
“As the President has repeatedly made clear, we are committed to pursuing diplomacy until the moment an invasion begins. Secretary Blinken and Foreign Minister Lavrov are scheduled to meet later this week in Europe, provided Russia does not proceed with military action. President Biden accepted in principle a meeting with President Putin following that engagement, again, if an invasion hasn’t happened,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a release.
Macron and Putin spoke twice on Sunday, for more than 165 minutes, where both discussed Kremlin’s accusations of the Ukrainian army allegedly violating ceasefire by shelling and firing at separatist rebel-held regions in eastern Ukraine. Putin told Macron that the US and NATO need to take Russian demands for security guarantees seriously, news agency AFP reported. “It is important to intensify efforts to find solutions through diplomatic means,” Putin was quoted as saying by the French presidency according to AFP. The French presidency highlighted that Putin told Macron that Russian troops would eventually leave from Belarus after Russia announced that its troops participating in military drills in Belarus would remain due to ceasefire violations along Ukraine’s eastern border.
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