Germany to Discuss Ukraine situation with France, Poland tomorrow
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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will discuss the situation in Ukraine with the president of France Emmanuel Macron and the President of Poland Andrzej Duda, on Tuesday in Berlin.
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French President Emmanuel Macron and Polish President Andrzej Duda in Warsaw, Poland February 3, 2020. (Reuters)
German government spokesperson Christiane Hoffman said on Monday that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will discuss the situation in Ukraine with the French president Emmanuel Macron and the President of Poland Andrzej Duda, on Tuesday in Berlin.
"On February 8, a meeting will be held at the Chancellor's office within the framework of the Weimar Triangle. The chancellor has invited French President Macron and … Duda to discuss, first of all, the situation in and around Ukraine," Hoffman told reporters.
It is worth mentioning that Macron will be in Moscow on Monday and Kyiv on Tuesday on a high diplomatic mission over Ukraine, amid NATO's attempts to expand eastward in Europe.
Two sources close to Macron reported, according to Reuters, that one aim of the visit was to buy time for several months until after the April elections in Europe, which may see a change in Hungary, Slovenia, and France.
The French President was optimistic that he would be able to secure a de-escalation over Ukraine but also hinted those Western countries would have to make concessions.
Macron had declared that Putin was not after invading Ukraine, but to alleviate security concerns regarding NATO's overtures in Europe.
"The geopolitical objective of Russia today is clearly not Ukraine, but to clarify the rules of cohabitation with NATO and the EU," he said.
On its part, the Kremlin said on Monday that Russia does not expect any decisive breakthrough from the talks set to take place today between Russia's President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron.
Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told a briefing today that it is expected that Macron will propose ways during his Russia visit to ease tensions in Europe.
Peskov also emphasized that it was not possible to talk about a decrease in tensions as Western governments continue to bring up reports of a looming Russian attack on Ukraine.
Moscow, he said, has not received any new replies on the security guarantees it requested from the West, "our Western interlocutors prefer not to mention this topic".
