Macron discusses Ukraine with Biden ahead of Russia trip

France’s President Emmanuel Macron discussed the Ukraine crisis with US counterpart Joe Biden on Sunday ahead of a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, both leaders’ offices said.

The two leaders “discussed ongoing diplomatic and deterrence efforts in response to Russia’s continued military build-up on Ukraine’s borders, and affirmed their support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the White House said in a statement.

The 40-minute phone call was part of coordination efforts, the French presidency said, before Macron travels to Moscow on Monday and on to Kyiv on Tuesday, where he is due to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The French leader has indicated that he is going to “discuss terms of a de-escalation” of the crisis.

US officials said the Kremlin has assembled 110,000 troops along the border with its pro-Western neighbor Ukraine, but intelligence assessments have not determined whether President Putin has actually decided to invade.

Over the weekend, Macron also held talks with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg plus the leaders of Baltic nations.

Macron and Biden had spoken earlier in the week, pledging to coordinate their response to Russia’s military buildup on the Ukrainian border and reaffirming their support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Macron, talking to the JDD weekly, said ““we have to be very realistic,” cautioning that “we will not obtain unilateral gestures” from Russia.

He added that it is “essential to avoid a deterioration of the situation before building mechanisms and reciprocal gestures of trust.”