Ukraine crisis talks move to Moscow and Washington

International efforts to defuse the standoff over Ukraine intensified on Monday, with French President Emmanuel Macron holding talks in Moscow and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Washington to coordinate policies as fears of a Russian invasion mounted.

The buildup of an estimated 100,000 Russian troops near Ukraine has fuelled Western worries of a possible offensive. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan warned on Sunday that Russia could invade Ukraine “any day,” triggering a conflict that would come at an “enormous human cost”.

Russia has denied any plans to attack its neighbour but demands that the US and its allies bar Ukraine and other former Soviet nations from joining NATO, halt weapons deployments there and roll back NATO forces from Eastern Europe. Washington and NATO reject those demands.

Macron called for de-escalation as he sat down for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin. “Dialogue is necessary because that’s the only thing that will help, in my views, to build a context of a security and stability on the European continent,” Macron said, calling the discussion a possible first step toward de-escalation.

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“I’m happy to have this opportunity to have a deep discussion on all these issues ... and to start building an effective response,” he added.

Putin, in turn, hailed France’s role in shaping European security and noted that their talks came on a day when the countries signed a friendship treaty 30 years ago.

“I realise that we share concern about what’s going on in Europe in the security sphere,” Putin told Macron, adding that he appreciates his efforts to help ensure “an equal security in Europe” and broker a settlement to the Ukrainian crisis.

Macron, who heads on Tuesday to Ukraine, spoke by phone on Sunday with US President Joe Biden on “ongoing diplomatic and deterrence efforts,” according to the White House.

Before the meeting, Macron said: “I don’t believe in spontaneous miracles.”

“The security and sovereignty of Ukraine or any other European state cannot be a subject for compromise, while it is also legitimate for Russia to pose the question of its own security,” Macron said in an interview with French newspaper Journal du Dimanche, adding he believes “the geopolitical objective of Russia today is clearly not Ukraine, but to clarify the rules of cohabitation with NATO and the EU”.

Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, described the visit as “very important,” but sought to temper expectations, saying “the situation is too complex to expect a decisive breakthrough after just one meeting”.

He noted that “the atmosphere has remained tense,” adding that the US and its allies have continued to ignore Moscow’s security demands.

Continuing the high-level diplomacy, Scholz is to meet with Biden later on Monday in Washington before traveling to Kyiv and Moscow on February 14-15.

Biden and Scholz are expected to address the pipeline during their first face-to-face meeting since Scholz became the head of the German government nearly two months ago.

Ahead of the visit, the White House sought to play down Germany’s refusal to supply lethal weapons to Ukraine, bolster its troops in Eastern Europe or spell out which sanctions it would support against Russia — a cautious stand that has drawn criticism abroad and inside Germany.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is visiting Kyiv on Monday and will head to the area near the line of contact, following visits there by her counterparts from Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The British government said Foreign Secretary Liz Truss will visit Moscow on Thursday and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace will meet Friday with his Russian counterparts.