PARIS (AP) – French and German leaders call for withdrawal of newly deployed Russian troops on the border with Ukraine, the German chancellor said on Friday after the two heads of state held security talks with the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Zelenskyy met in Paris on Friday with French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel joined them by teleconference. The Ukrainian president is trying to support the support of the European Union and NATO amid growing tensions between his country and neighboring Russia.
Merkel’s office said the three discussed “the security situation on the Ukrainian-Russian border, as well as in eastern Ukraine. They shared their concerns about the accumulation of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine … They demanded the withdrawal of these reinforcements from the troops to achieve a de-escalation of the situation. “
Macron and Merkel stressed their support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, according to French and German officials.
The talks come as Ukraine and the West have sounded alarms in recent weeks over the concentration of troops along Russia’s western border, a build-up that the United States and NATO have described as the largest since 2014. Ukrainians and separatists backed by Russia have been fighting in eastern Ukraine for seven years.
“We hope that President Zelenskyy’s visit will give a new impetus” to negotiations with Russia and Ukraine and finally to the political solution of the conflict, said a French official in the French presidency, who spoke on condition of anonymity then the meeting.
“We seek to understand positions and tensions and see how we can figure out the narrow paths between (different) opinions,” the official said.
France and Germany, which helped negotiate a peace deal signed in February 2015 in the Belarusian capital of Minsk, are working to prepare for more talks with the leaders of Ukraine and Russia.
Their last meeting, which took place in Paris in December 2019, helped ease tensions, but failed to move towards a political resolution that would end the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
Zelenskyy called for action in France and Germany. “They always support our integrity, our sovereignty … But I said very directly and very honestly that we must now move forward very quickly,” the Ukrainian leader said during a press conference.
“I think it’s not just our problem, it’s about Europe’s security,” Zelenskyy said.
Commenting on a possible meeting between US President Joe Biden and Russian Vladimir Putin, Zelenskyy said: “When there is dialogue, the canons are silent.”
“I think it could help solve some problems … When such important countries don’t talk, others suffer,” he added.
In a call with Putin this week, Biden expressed concern over Russian buildup and called on Russia to ease tensions. The Biden administration on Thursday lifted pressure on Russia, announcing a series of new sanctions.
More than 14,000 people have died in the fighting in eastern Ukraine, which erupted after Russia’s annexation to the Crimean peninsula in 2014. Violations of an unstable truce have become increasingly frequent in recent weeks.
The Kremlin said it hoped Macron and Merkel would persuade Zelenskyy to observe the ceasefire agreement and implement a 2015 peace agreement for eastern Ukraine that was signed in Minsk, the capital of Belarus.
The Kremlin expects French and German leaders to “use their influence and convey the need to resolutely stop any provocative action along the line of control and emphasize the importance of unconditional ceasefire observation,” he said. say Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesman. Friday.
Major General Victor Hanushchyak, deputy commander of the Ukrainian Joint Forces operation in the east of the country, said the likely goal of Russia’s recent actions is to “intensify efforts to prevent the reintegration of territories.” temporarily occupied “under separatist control.
Despite what he described as an increase in bombing along the front line and a military buildup on the Russian-backed side, Hanushchyak said “there have been no signs of direct enemy preparedness for active offensive action.” .
In the Ukrainian city of Avdiivka, near the front line with separatist-controlled territory, Vitaly Barabash, head of the local military-civilian administration, told the AP on Friday that “people are being shot, not it happens, people are a little scared … but don’t panic. “
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Journalists AP Dmytro in Avdiivka, Ukraine, and Frank Jordans in Berlin, Germany, contributed to the story.