British Prime Minister Boris JohnsonLONDON Feb 21British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told French President Emmanuel Macron that Russian President Vladimir Putin's «commitments» indicate that he is still ready to participate in finding a diplomatic solution to the Ukrainian crisis. This is stated in the Downing Street message following the conversation between the leaders of Britain and France. On Sunday, Macron and Putin held a telephone conversation at the initiative of the French side. According to French media, it lasted 1 hour and 45 minutes. According to Agence France-Presse, citing a French official, Putin confirmed to Macron his intention to withdraw troops from Belarus after military exercises. In addition, the leaders agreed to hold talks of the trilateral contact group on Monday, media reported, citing a French official.
"The prime minister noted that President Putin's commitment to President Macron was a welcome sign that he may still be willing to engage in finding a diplomatic solution. The Prime Minister emphasized that the voice of Ukraine should be central in any discussions", the Office of the British Prime Minister noted.
In addition, the leaders agreed on the need for both Russia and Ukraine to fulfill their obligations under the Minsk agreements in full. «They also stressed the need for President Putin to step back from his current threats and withdraw troops from the border with Ukraine,» Downing Street added. Russia, on the other hand, has repeatedly stressed that it is not a party to the conflict in Ukraine and a subject of the Minsk settlement agreements.Johnson said the risk of the biggest war since the end of World War II «Prime Minister and President Macron agreed that the next week will be crucial for diplomacy, and decided to maintain close contact,» the message says. Western states have recently expressed concern about with the allegedly dangerous actions of Russia near the borders of Ukraine. Moscow has repeatedly rejected such accusations, saying that it does not threaten anyone and is not going to attack anyone, and statements about «Russian aggression» are used as a pretext to deploy more NATO military equipment near Russian borders. Unsubstantiated allegations that Russia is preparing provocations continue to come from the West, despite the return of Russian troops to their places of deployment after the exercises. On February 14, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. At a meeting with Putin, the head of the Russian Defense Ministry reported that «some of the exercises are coming to an end, some will be completed in the near future.» The Southern and Western military districts of the Russian Federation have begun returning troops to their places of deployment, the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Major General Igor Konashenkov, told reporters the next day. Macron accused Russia of the omnipotence of its propagandaPosted: Olga Filippova