French President Emmanuel Macron stated on Tuesday that he wants "to begin work and a cooling process" with Moscow as U.S. President Joe Biden and the European Union hint at potential new sanctions due to tensions surrounding Ukraine. These comments come as Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a two-hour virtual summit on Tuesday in an effort to avoid a Russian military escalation in Ukraine.
In response to journalists' questions about potential new sanctions on Russia during a visit to central France, Macron deemed it necessary to wait for the "outcome of the discussions" between his American and Russian counterparts before any possible hardening of stance. He added that "our strategy is to begin work and a cooling process."
He emphasized that "the idea is to try to re-engage (Vladimir Putin) in frameworks for coordination with us," pointing to the "Normandy format" involving Ukraine, Russia, Germany, and France. He stated that the goal is "also to obtain a framework for +defusing the crisis+ to relieve tensions in the relationship with NATO," while noting that Moscow does not support any engagement with Kyiv in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Joe Biden is expected to call his French counterpart, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson following his virtual summit with Vladimir Putin.
For days, Washington, NATO, and Kyiv have accused Moscow of amassing troops along the border with Ukraine in preparation for an attack. This scenario recalls the events of 2014 when Russia annexed Crimea, leading to armed conflict in eastern Ukraine that left over 13,000 dead.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen affirmed that the European Union is prepared to impose additional sanctions on Russia if Ukraine is subjected to new aggression. Von der Leyen stated in an announcement during a video conference with ambassadors from EU countries, "The EU will respond appropriately to any new aggression, including violations of international law and any other harmful actions taken against us or against our neighbors, including Ukraine."
