French President Emmanuel Macron will speak to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin by phone on Friday. France's Foreign Ministry says Paris will assess whether Moscow wants "consultations or confrontation" over the growing tensions in Ukraine.
Moscow has massed troops near Ukraine and sought security guarantees from the West, including a promise that Nato will never allow Russia's former Soviet neighbour to join.
Speaking to RTL radio, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the West still considered dialogue possible, but the ball was in Putin's court.
"It is up to Vladimir Putin to say if he wants consultations or confrontation," Le Drian told RTL radio, asking whether the Russian leader wanted to be a "destabilising power" or would seek de-escalation.
Macron to speak to Putin, seek clarity over Ukraine, France says https://t.co/qCILw54cz1 pic.twitter.com/ixhKmEIVNY
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 28, 2022
Throughout his five years as France's President, Macron has sought dialogue with Putin, at times to the irritation of his European Union allies.
Western countries are worried Russia might invade Ukraine though Russia denies planning to do so. Macron said on Tuesday he would seek a clarification of Russia's intentions towards Ukraine.
Weeks of dialogue between the West and Moscow have produced few results but both sides have left the door open to dialogue although Russia said on Thursday it was clear the United States was not willing to address its main security concerns.
US convenes meeting of the UN Security Council in connection to threat of Russian military incursion into #Ukraine.
— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) January 28, 2022
Scheduled for Jan 31, says US Ambassador to UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield. pic.twitter.com/wNI815ozXo
UN Security Council
Meanwhile, the United States said it has called for an open meeting of the UN Security Council next Monday to address the crisis around Ukraine due to what it called "threatening behavior" by Russia.
With fears rising that Russia could invade its neighbour, a former Soviet state, Washington's United Nations envoy Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the council faced a "crucial" matter for international peace and security: "Russia's threatening behavior against Ukraine and the build-up of Russian troops on Ukraine's borders and in Belarus."
Originally the United States had hoped to hold the Security Council meeting on Friday, according to diplomats.
But they said they agreed to push it to Monday so as not to interfere with the Friday phone call between Macron and Putin.
(With wires)
