KYIV, 09 February 2022, (TON): French President Emmanuel Macron said “he had convinced Russia’s Vladimir Putin not to escalate the crisis around Ukraine, ahead of talks in Kyiv aimed at defusing fears Moscow could invade.”

During a five-hour meeting over dinner in the Kremlin, Macron said “he offered Putin concrete security guarantees as the West scrambles to deal with Russia’s massive troop build-up on Ukraine’s border.

“I obtained that there will be no degradation nor escalation,” the French leader told journalists as he arrived in Kyiv for talks with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Macron said “my aim was to freeze the game, to prevent an escalation and open up new perspectives.”

“This objective for me is fulfilled.”

Putin who has demanded sweeping security guarantees from NATO and the United States told Macron that Moscow would “do everything to find compromises that suit everyone.”

He said “several proposals put forward by Macron could form a basis for further steps on easing the crisis over Ukraine, but did not give any details.”

At the same time as sending its military hardware to Ukraine’s borders, Moscow issued demands the West says are unacceptable, including barring Ukraine from joining NATO and rolling back alliance forces in eastern Europe.