Russian President Vladimir Putin explained the sharp deterioration of the situation on the line of contact in the Donbass with Kiev’s provocations. He stated this during a conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron, the Kremlin press service reported.
The conversation took place at the initiative of the French side, the presidents exchanged views on the situation around Ukraine. “Serious concern was expressed over the sharp deterioration of the situation on the line of contact in Donbass. The President of Russia noted that the reason for the escalation is the provocations of the Ukrainian security forces,” the message says.
Putin also drew attention to the “pumping” of Ukraine by NATO countries with weapons and ammunition. This pushes Kiev towards a military solution to the problem of Donbass, which is why the residents of the DPR and LPR are forced to evacuate.
The Russian president told Macron that Kiev was simulating the negotiation process and refusing to implement the Minsk agreements. The Presidents acknowledged that it is necessary to “intensify the search for solutions through diplomatic means through the foreign ministries and political advisers to the leaders of the countries participating in the Normandy format.”
“In view of all this, Vladimir Putin once again emphasized the need for the United States and NATO to take Russian demands for security guarantees seriously and respond to them specifically and to the point,” the Kremlin concluded.
Earlier, BFMTV, citing the Elysee Palace, reported that the negotiations lasted one hour and 45 minutes. “They are [Путин и Макрон] talk about how to avoid a major war in Europe, while Westerners are more afraid than ever of a Russian invasion of Ukraine,” BFMTV noted.
After negotiations with Putin, Macron spoke for half an hour with the head of Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky. The latter announced the need for the immediate convening of a trilateral contact group and the introduction of a regime of silence.
Today, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov called Russia the last country in Europe that wants to pronounce the word “war.”
“We call for reason, we urge you to ask yourself the question: what is the point of Russia attacking someone? We urge you to remember history, but let’s put it this way, their history in the West, as we have seen recently, is not very good. But we remind you that Russia throughout its history has never attacked anyone. Russia, which has survived so many wars, is the last country in Europe that wants to speak at all, even pronounce the word “war,” Peskov said on the Russia 1 TV channel.