MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron will discuss Russia’s demands for security guarantees from the West during Macron’s visit to Moscow on Monday, the Kremlin said on Friday.
Russia considers the planned visit important, and Putin will tell Macron how he understands Washington’s initial response to Russia’s demands, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a briefing.
Continuing the diplomatic effort, German chancellor Olaf Scholz is set to visit Moscow on Feb.15, Peskov said. Meanwhile, no agreement has been reached a proposal from Turkey to host talks between Russian and Ukraine’s president, he said.
Moscow has amassed over 100,000 troops near Ukraine’s borders. It denies that it plans to invade its neighbour but is demanding guarantees from the West that Kyiv will not be allowed to join NATO.
(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov; Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; editing by John Stonestreet)
