Ukraine crisis: EU leaders vow unity as France’s Macron sees path on easing Russia tensions
- French leader held talks with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky a day after meeting with Russia’s Vladimir Putin
- Russia has amassed more than 100,000 troops and military hardware on border with Ukraine
European leaders pledged unity in their goal of averting war on the continent, as France’s President Emmanuel Macron said he saw a path forward on easing tensions with Russia over Ukraine after an urgent round of shuttle diplomacy.
Arriving in Berlin on Tuesday after two days of talks in Kyiv and Moscow, Macron urged continued “firm dialogue” with Russia as the only way to defuse fears Russia could invade its ex-Soviet neighbour.
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Ukrainians train in self-defence in face of Russian threat as Western leaders try to defuse crisis
Macron said he now saw the “possibility” for talks involving Moscow and Kyiv over the festering conflict in eastern Ukraine to move forward, and “concrete, practical solutions” to lower tensions between Russia and the West.
“We must find ways and means together to engage in a firm dialogue with Russia,” he said in Berlin, where he was to debrief German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Polish leader Andrzej Duda on his Kremlin meeting and his talks with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.
Standing alongside Macron and Duda, Scholz stressed the trio “are united by the goal of maintaining peace in Europe through diplomacy and clear messages and the shared will to act in unison”.
The Polish leader said he believed war could still be averted.