Emmanuel Macron continues to play the diplomatic card by telephone. The French president again spoke with Vladimir Putin for an hour on Sunday evening, for the second time that day. He had previously spoken to US President Joe Biden, the Elysée announced.
The head of state had already discussed in the afternoon for nearly two hours with his Russian counterpart, as part of a series of discussions between heads of state to try to avoid an armed conflict in the east of Ukraine.
All these discussions led to a surprise announcement on Sunday evening: Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden agreed to meet at a summit, proposed by Emmanuel Macron. The White House, however, set a condition: “an invasion” of Ukraine must not take place by then. The Elysée Palace also specified that the talks will subsequently be extended to “all stakeholders” in the crisis.
Blinken-Lavrov meeting on Thursday
The United States is “committed to continued diplomacy,” but “we are also prepared to inflict swift and severe consequences if Russia chooses war instead,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki. Nothing is done yet because according to her, “currently, Russia seems to be continuing its preparations for a large-scale attack on Ukraine very soon”.
Proof that things are progressing: a first deadline has already been set. The content of the summit will be prepared by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov during their meeting scheduled for next Thursday, said the Elysée. To make his mediation a success, Emmanuel Macron also insisted, during his interview with Vladimir Putin, on the importance of a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine.