Macron heads to Kiev after negotiations with Putin

French President Emmanuel Macron travels to Kiev on February 8, following talks he held with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

Macron told a news conference in the Kremlin that he had made proposals for "concrete security guarantees" to Putin and that the Russian leader had assured him of his "readiness to engage in this direction and his desire to see stability and territorial integrity in Ukraine."

The French leader has said that he has found some points of convergence with Putin, and added that the following days will be key for the situation created by the positioning of the Russian army near Ukraine.

The West suspects that this situation could result in the invasion of Ukraine.

Macron has stated that he told Putin that the creation of a new architecture for security in Europe should not be done, the right of states to join the NATO alliance should be cancelled.

US officials have said that Russia has massed more than 100 troops near the border with Ukraine and is ready to assemble a force of 150 soldiers for a full invasion by the middle of the month.

The French presidency has said that the proposals discussed include a commitment by Russia and the West not to undertake new military actions, the launch of a new strategic dialogue and efforts to revive the peace process in eastern Ukraine.

Putin has said that Moscow "will do everything to find compromises that suit everyone", adding that the proposals made by Macron could create a basis for moving forward in the crisis surrounding Ukraine.

"Some ideas, proposals... are possible as a basis for further steps", Putin said after the talks, which he described as substantial and business-like, although Macron admitted that differences still exist.

Putin has said that he and Macron will talk again by phone after the French president's negotiations with the Ukrainian leadership on February 8 in Kiev.

The Russian leader has reiterated that he sees no alternative to the Minsk agreements, which aim to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine, and that Kiev must act according to these agreements reached in 2014 and 2015.

Biden meets Scholz

In Washington, US President Joe Biden talked with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz about the situation in Ukraine.

Both leaders have shown their unity and confidence in working to stop Russian aggression in Europe.

Biden has vowed to "end" the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which has been built to carry Russian gas to Germany but has yet to be operational.

"The idea that Nord Stream 2 will move forward in the event of a Russian invasion is not going to happen," Biden said at a joint press conference with Scholz.

He did not give details on how the USA will act, but he emphasized that Germany and the United States are prepared to act together in case of any invasion.

He has said that if Russia invades - specifying that it means the entry of tanks and troops to the Ukrainian border - "then there will be no Nord Stream 2", Biden said.

"I promise you, we will put an end to it."

Scholz did not go that far with his comments, but said that Germany and the United States would act together in the event of a Russian invasion.

Moscow, on the other hand, has consistently denied plans for an invasion.

If Russia invades Ukraine, it would not be the first time.

Russia annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea in 2014.

This country also supports rebels in the conflicts in the eastern regions of Ukraine, in which about 14,000 people have died.

Source: REL