Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron talk about the Ukraine crisis

The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and its French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, They talked this Monday by phone, for the second time in four days, on tensions in Ukraine and security concerns, the Kremlin said.

“The exchange of views continued on the situation around Ukraine and issues related to the provision to Russia long-term and legally established security guarantees,” the Russian presidency said in a statement released after the call.

According to the Kremlin, Putin again mentioned in detail the principled approaches to these problems.

The two leaders, who had already spoken on Friday, they agreed to continue contacts by phone but also, according to the Kremlin, to study “the possibility” of meeting in person.

According to the French presidency, this Monday’s exchange is the continuation of Macron’s talks with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski on January 28 and is part of the logic of “de-escalation”.

The call is the latest in a series of diplomatic talks between senior officials from Moscow, Brussels and Washington on the Ukraine conflict and disagreements between Russia and the West over security in Europe.

Russia is accused of concentrating from the end of 2021 up to 100,000 soldiers on the Ukrainian border with a view to an attack. Given this, the United States and the United Kingdom have threatened new sanctions against Moscow.

The government of Russia denies planning an invasion and demands written guarantees for his safety, including the rejection of Ukraine’s accession to NATO and the end of the military reinforcement of the Atlantic Alliance in the East.

But nevertheless, this key demand was rejected by the United States last week in a written response to Moscow. The Kremlin said it was considering their reaction.(I)