MOSCOW/KYIV (REUTERS) - The Kremlin on Tuesday (Feb 8) denied that Russian President Vladimir Putin had promised France’s Emmanuel Macron that Moscow would stage no further manoeuvres near Ukraine for now, pouring cold water on a tentative French assertion of diplomatic progress.

Mr Macron, who visited Moscow on Monday, is the highest-ranking Western leader to have met the Mr Putin since Russia amassed over 100,000 troops near the Ukrainian frontier in what Nato countries fear is preparation for war.

Mr Putin and Mr Macron announced no breakthroughs at a news conference after their meeting on Monday, but a French official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, said overnight that Mr Putin had pledged no new moves near Ukraine for now.

The official also said Mr Putin had promised to withdraw Russian troops from Belarus at the end of exercises there, which are set for later this month.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said reports of any undertaking not to hold manoeuvres near Ukraine were “not right”.

Mr Putin had also given no new promise about when Russian troops would leave Belarus, he said.

They would return to Russian bases at some point after the drills, but “no one ever said they would stay” in Belarus, he added.

Mr Macron’s Elysee Palace office appeared to row back from the French official’s remarks on Tuesday, saying the official was mentioning points that were discussed by the two leaders, rather than a specific new promise by Mr Putin.  

Mr Macron defended his mission as having prevented a further deterioration of the crisis.
He had never expected “for one second” that Mr Putin would make concessions, he told journalists after arriving in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, where he was due to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Tuesday.

Western countries, particularly the United States, say they fear Mr Putin is preparing to invade Ukraine. Moscow says it is not planning an invasion, but could take unspecified military action if its security demands are not met.

Russia sees Nato’s addition of 14 new east European members since the Cold War ended three decades ago as an encroachment on its sphere of influence and a threat to its security.

Jostling for influence in post-Cold War Europe, it wants guarantees that include a promise of no missile deployments near its borders, a scaling back of Nato’s military infrastructure, and a pledge from Nato never to admit Ukraine.  

The West has said some of its demands are “non-starters”, but is willing to talk about arms control and confidence-building steps.

The US and the European Union have also threatened Russia with sanctions if it attacks Ukraine.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday said sanctions and other measures would be ready in the event of a Russian attack

Writing in The Times, Mr Johnson said Britain is considering deploying Royal Air Force Typhoon fighters and Royal Navy warships to protect south-eastern Europe.

“The government will ask Parliament for new powers to sanction a wider range of Russian individuals and entities, including any company linked to the Russian state or operating in a sector of strategic importance to the
Kremlin,” he said.

British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss will both travel to Moscow soon, he added.  

The coming days will be crucial in the stand-off, Mr Macron told reporters after his meeting on Monday with Mr Putin, which lasted more than five hours over dinner. “The next few days will be decisive and will require intensive discussions, which we will pursue together,” he said.  

Mr Putin suggested that some of the French president’s ideas could help defuse the crisis. “A number of his ideas, proposals, which are probably still too early to talk about, I think it is quite possible to make the basis of our further joint steps,” Mr Putin said.  

The pair will speak again after Mr Macron meets Ukraine’s leader.  The French president has pushed his diplomatic credentials and portrayed himself as a potential mediator as he eyes possible re-election in April. “Together... I’m sure we will get a result, even if it’s not easy,” Mr Macron said.  

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said ahead of Mr Macron’s talks with Mr Zelenskiy that Kyiv was “waiting with interest for the signals that Mr Macron brought from Moscow”.  

But he added: “We will not cross our red lines and no one will be able to force us to cross them.” Kyiv has repeatedly said it would oppose any negotiations over its fate without its participation, or any deal with Russia that interfered with its right to join alliances such as Nato.