French, German leaders support Biden-Putin talks on Ukraine crisis

BERLIN

French President Emmanuel Macron and new German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday backed ongoing talks between US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin geared at resolving the escalating Ukrainian crisis.

"It is really very useful that President Biden had discussions with President Putin. Our common will is that we continue this dialogue (on Ukraine) between Putin-Biden," Macron said at a joint news conference with Scholz in Paris.

"We want stability in the region and not escalation. The first goal should be to avoid any unnecessary tension. We keep an eye on the situation, but there shouldn't be any escalation. It is about the stability and sovereignty of Ukraine," he added.

Macron's remarks were echoed by Scholz, who said: "We are all very concerned about the situation on the Ukrainian border. It is quite obvious that there are a lot of soldiers to be seen and therefore it is quite right that this is now being discussed everywhere. It is a good thing that the American president pursued a conversation with the Russian presidents on this matter."

On Wednesday, Putin called the online meeting with Biden “open, substantive and constructive” amid Western concerns that Russia’s military buildup near Ukraine’s border was a prelude to a major invasion.

But Putin also pointed to the difficulties ahead: Russia’s demand that Ukraine not be considered for NATO membership – a stance that NATO officials have time and again stressed they will not agree to.

“We can continue this dialogue. It seems to me that’s the main thing,” Putin said.

In Washington, Biden said on Wednesday that putting more US soldiers on Ukrainian territory is "not on the table."

The US has presently troops in Ukraine for training purposes.

Meanwhile, Macron and Scholz expressed their continued readiness to also help mediate in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict as part of the so-called Normandy Format which has brought together the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France to help end the conflict in eastern Ukraine between Kyiv's forces and pro-Russian separatists.

In 2014, Moscow began to support separatist forces in eastern Ukraine against the central government, a policy that it has maintained for the past seven years.

For the second time this year, Moscow concentrated a significant number of troops in and around Ukraine last month.