Emmanuel Macron says Putin assures him that Russian forces would not ramp up Ukraine's crisis

French President Emmanuel Macron has said Russian President Vladimir Putin assured him that Russian forces would not ramp up the crisis near Ukraine's borders. President Macron this week is on a diplomatic tour of European countries. He arrived in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, yesterday after almost six hours of talks with Mr Putin in Moscow. 

Before meeting Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, Mr. Macron told media persons that he has secured an assurance that there would be no deterioration or escalation in Ukraine crisis. Mr Macron said there is now the chance to make these negotiations move forward between Russia and Ukraine, and that he could see "concrete



solutions" for reducing tensions.

Meanwhile, Russia said any suggestion of a guarantee was "not right". Russia has denied any plans to invade Ukraine, but it has assembled more than 100,000 troops near its borders. US officials believe Russia has assembled 70% of the military forces needed for a full-scale invasion.

The tensions between Russia, Ukraine, and the West come nearly eight years after Russia annexed Ukraine's southern Crimea peninsula. Moscow accuses the Ukrainian government of failing to implement the Minsk agreement - an international deal sponsored by Germany and France to restore peace to the east.