BREAKING 🚨 After Macron call, Ukraine leader urges immediate ceasefire

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#Ukraine president calls for immediate ceasefire

Read: https://t.co/fK0fC5iNjE> #UkraineCrisis pic.twitter.com/5sWrnPWnk4

— The Times Of India (@timesofindia) February 20, 2022

2/20/22
By Sputnik News
Putin Tells Macron of NATO Effort to Push Kiev Into Military Solution in Donbass

The Donbass has seen a dramatic escalation of military activity in recent days, with local militias and Kiev forces accusing one another of back-and-forth mortar and artillery attacks. On Friday, the breakaways announced a general mobilization and organized the evacuation of civilians to neighbouring Russia amid fears of an all-out assault by Kiev.

Russian President Vladimir Putin brought up NATO's efforts to pump Ukraine up with arms and encourage Kiev to resolve the conflict in Donbass by force during Sunday's conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron, according to a Kremlin readout.
"Serious concern was expressed over the sharp deterioration of the situation on the line of contact in the Donbass.

The Russian president noted that provocations by the Ukrainian security forces are the cause of the escalation. Attention was drawn to ongoing effort by NATO countries to pump Ukraine full of modern weapons and ammunition, which is pushing Kiev toward a military solution to the so-called Donbass problem," the Kremlin said.

"As a result, civilians from the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics suffer, and have been forced to evacuate to Russia to escape the intensifying shelling," the readout added.

Putin was said to have reiterated to his French counterpart that Kiev was "only imitating" the peace negotiations progress, "stubbornly refusing to implement the Minsk Agreements and the agreements reached in the Normandy Format."

"Taking into account the acuteness of the current state of affairs, the presidents considered it expedient to intensify the search for solutions through diplomatic means through foreign ministries and political advisors to the leaders of the countries of the Normandy Format. These contacts are designed to help restore the ceasefire and ensure progress in resolving the conflict around Donbass," the Kremlin stated.

Russia's security concerns vis-a-vis NATO were also brought up, according to the readout, with Putin said to have "reiterated the need for the United States and NATO to take Russia's demands for security guarantees seriously and to respond to them in a specific and to the point manner."

The Elysee Palace issued its own statement following Sunday's phone call, saying that Presidents Putin and Macron had agreed to search for a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine crisis. The presidents agreed on five points, according to the Elysee, including:

1) the resumption of work in the framework of the Normandy format, 2) efforts to ensure the meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group later Sunday to obtain a commitment on a ceasefire in the Donbass, 3) commitment to a diplomatic solution to the Donbass crisis via "intense diplomatic work carried out in the coming days and weeks," including meetings between Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian, 4) a firm commitment by Russia and France to carry out actions to avoid escalation, reduce risks and preserve peace.

"This diplomatic work should make it possible to make progress on the basis of the latest exchanges involving all stakeholders (the Europeans, their allies, Russia and Ukraine) in order to achieve, if the conditions are met, a meeting at the highest level to define a new order of peace and security in Europe," the Elysee said.

source:
https://sputniknews.com/20220220/kremlin-putin-informed-macron-of-nato-effort-to-push-kiev-into-military-solution-in-donbass-1093207433.html

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