Drive to deescalate Ukraine Tensions: Russia, EU see ‘positive signals’

The Kremlin yesterday said there were "positive signals" for the resolution of the Ukraine crisis following a meeting of the French and Ukrainian leaders in Kyiv.

French President Emmanuel Macron met his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday amid a flurry of European diplomacy aimed at defusing fears that Moscow could invade Ukraine.

"There were positive signals that a solution to Ukraine could be based only on fulfilling the Minsk agreements," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, referring to accords signed in 2015 between Kyiv and pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Zelensky in Kyiv on Tuesday, Macron said he saw a path toward easing tensions.

European leaders on Tuesday pledged unity in their goal of averting war on the continent.

Arriving in Berlin after two days of talks in Kyiv and Moscow, Macron urged continued "firm dialogue" with Russia as the only way to defuse fears Russia could invade its ex-Soviet neighbour.

The focus will now turn to separate talks involving high-ranking officials in Berlin today that Zelensky said could pave the way for a summit with the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany aimed at reviving the stalled peace plan for Kyiv's conflict with Moscow-backed separatists.