MOSCOW, Feb 7The main topic of the meeting between the Presidents of Russia and France, Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron, will be tension in Europe, said the press secretary of the Russian leader Dmitry Peskov. On Monday, the head of the republic will visit Moscow, and the next day he will leave for Kiev. The conversation between Putin and Macron should start around 17:00 (Moscow time), then it will continue at a working lunch, after which a joint press conference will take place. «The topic of tension in Europe related to the situation around Ukraine, the topic of security guarantees for Russia, will absolutely dominate everything related to these main problems,” a Kremlin spokesman told reporters, adding that Nord Stream 2 was not on the main agenda. />06:39Interstate relations between Russia and France Peskov recalled that the contacts were preceded by several telephone conversations, «therefore, we expect a very substantive and lengthy discussion, voluminous in time and content.» At the same time, the Russian side does not predict any decisive changes, since the situation is too complicated.»Emmanuel Macron leads the country that presides over the European Union. <…> But we know <…> that he is coming with certain ideas to find possible options for defusing tensions in Europe,» Peskov concluded .Ukrainian issue and negotiations with the West In recent months, Washington and Brussels have accused Moscow of preparing an «invasion» of Ukraine and are increasing their presence in Eastern Europe. In Russia, they reject all claims, emphasizing that they are moving troops within their territories, and also remind that they do not participate in the intra-Ukrainian conflict and do not violate any agreements, unlike Kiev, which does not comply with the Minsk agreements.
December 9, 2019, 21:34 InfographicMinsk AgreementsInfographicViewThe document provides for a ceasefire and the withdrawal of heavy weapons from the line of contact. Now the Ukrainian authorities have concentrated more than half of the army’s personnel on the border with the self-proclaimed DNR and LNR and regularly fire on the militias, including using prohibited equipment. borders. They also explained that the main reason for the escalation is the actions of the United States and NATO, which are «pumping» Ukraine with weapons, thereby pushing it towards military adventures. Against this background, at the end of last year, Moscow handed over draft documents on security guarantees to Brussels and Washington. Russia insists on ending the bloc's military cooperation with the post-Soviet countries, refusing to create bases on their territory, limiting the deployment of strike weapons near the Russian border, removing American nuclear weapons from Europe and not expanding NATO to the east. On January 26, Russia received a written response. The Foreign Ministry said that Western partners ignored the most important issue — the non-expansion of the alliance.
