In this June 16, 2021 file photo, US President Joe Biden (right) and Russian President Vladimir Putin arrive for a US-Russia summit at Villa La Grange in Geneva. (SAUL LOEB / POOL / AFP)
PARIS/WASHINGTON – Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden have agreed in principle to a summit over Ukraine, the office of French President Emmanuel Macron said, provided Russia does not invade its neighbor.
In a statement released early Monday, the Elysee Palace said Macron had pitched both leaders on a summit over "security and strategic stability in Europe."
"Presidents Biden and Putin have both accepted the principle of such a summit," the statement said.
Confirming the Elysee Palace statement, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the summit would happen after a meeting between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov next week.
"We are always ready for diplomacy," she said in the statement. "We are also ready to impose swift and severe consequences should Russia instead choose war."
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Macron and Putin pledged to "avoid an escalation, reduce risks and preserve peace" in eastern Ukraine during a phone call on Sunday, the Elysee Palace said in a press release.
President Zelensky has confirmed his determination to not react to the provocations and to respect the ceasefire.
Elysee Palace
Macron and Putin have agreed to resume the work within the framework of the Normandy format on the basis of the exchanges and proposals made by Ukraine in recent days, and to enable a meeting of the trilateral contact group to be held in the next few hours with the aim of obtaining "a commitment to a ceasefire" from all the stakeholders, it added.
The announcement – released after a volley of phone calls between Macron and leaders on both sides of the Atlantic – comes after a week of heightened geopolitical tensions.
The White House said Biden was canceling a trip to Delaware and remaining in Washington following a two-hour meeting of his National Security Council.
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According to the French president’s office, Macron and Putin agreed on the need to favor a diplomatic solution to the current crisis and "to do everything to achieve it," adding that French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian will meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in the coming days and several consultations will be held in Paris.
French President Emmanuel Macron (right) meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) in Moscow on Feb 7, 2022,
"The diplomatic work should make it possible to progress on the basis of the latest exchanges by involving all the stakeholders … in order to achieve, if the conditions are met, a meeting at the highest level to define a new order of peace and security in Europe," said the press release.
Macron also spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky by telephone over the weekend.
"President Zelensky has confirmed his determination to not react to the provocations and to respect the ceasefire," the Elysee said in another press release.
On Saturday, France urged all its nationals currently in Ukraine to leave the country and advised citizens to postpone their trip there.
