(Photo : Photo by Kay Nietfeld - Pool/Getty Images)
BERLIN, GERMANY - JANUARY 25: French President Emmanuel Macron during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz ahead of talks at the Chancellery on January 25, 2022 in Berlin, Germany.
French President Emmanuel Macron is set to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call to seek clarification on Moscow's intentions towards Ukraine after the latter amassed troops at the border with the Eastern European country.
Both Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz have expressed their support for Ukraine in a joint news conference that was held on Tuesday in Berlin. The two officials again emphasized their position that the Russian government would pay a high price if it moved to aggressively attack Ukraine.
Macron and Putin
The two leaders spoke ahead of the resumption of the so-called "Normandy format" talks that will include political advisers from Russia, Ukraine, France, and Germany. The talks will be held in Paris on Wednesday.
The French president said that he was hopeful that the phone call with Putin scheduled on Friday would lead to "demanding dialogue and obtain clarifications." On Monday, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), said that it was placing troops on standby and planned to reinforce eastern Europe with more ships and fighter jets. However, Russia called the movie Western "hysteria" despite building tens of thousands of troops at the Ukrainian border, Reuters reported.
Macron said that the call was vital to continue a clear dialogue with Russia and understand the situation to avoid any misunderstanding or ambiguity. The French president's overtures to the Russian president came shortly after United States President Joe Biden held a phone call with numerous European leaders on Monday night.
The Democratic leader's call included Macron and was an attempt to showcase the Western allies' unity against Russia. However, after the call, an Elysee official noted that the French president was planning on making his own diplomatic entreaty to the Russian leader.
Last week, French President Macron announced a new European security proposal that aimed to be a potential longer-term negotiation channel to defuse tensions with Russia. On Tuesday, he defended the value of having multiple formats for talking with Moscow even if none of the channels have been successful in defusing tensions surrounding Ukraine, Politico reported.
Tensions Over Ukraine
The situation comes as U.S. President Biden said his administration was considering imposing economic sanctions that personally targeted Russian President Putin. The sanctions would seek to deter the latter of any aggressive moves against Ukraine.
On the other hand, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has urged European allies to prepare sanctions against Russia if Moscow chooses to attack its smaller neighbor. In a statement sent to parliament on Tuesday, Johnson said that they had a hard-hitting package of sanctions that was ready to be imposed against Russia.
The prime minister said that he believes it was fair to say that they wanted to see European allies have similar packages prepared. Furthermore, the West has placed 8,500 troops on heightened alert for possible deployment to Eastern Europe.
The move comes as other NATO member states have bolstered their security presence in the region in anticipation of Russia's potentially aggressive actions against Ukraine. However, Moscow responded by saying that the U.S. was escalating tensions surrounding the issue, Aljazeera reported.
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