French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday called for an end to military activity in Ukraine’s Donbas region, after both the Ukrainian armed forces and separatists controlling parts of eastern Ukraine spoke of renewed shelling.
“In a context where Russian military pressure does not weaken, where destabilization increases, where bombings in the contact zone have resumed, we call first of all for the cessation of these military actions, and for a rapid de-escalation,” Macron said at the European Union — African Union summit in Brussels. “Very clearly, there are [military] actions that have multiplied. These actions, in our opinion, must stop because they contravene the agreements that have been reached, the ceasefires that have been respected until now, and for which all parties involved had recently reiterated their support.”
Macron said that teams from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) would have to clarify the events of the last few hours and days.
In an earlier statement, the OSCE said the organization is “aware that Russia is intent on creating a pretext to justify an invasion” into Ukraine, and has received reports which detail Russia’s “efforts to fabricate supposed ‘Ukrainian provocations’ and shape a public narrative that would justify a Russian invasion.”
“Starting several weeks ago, we acquired information that the Russian government was planning to stage a fabricated attack by Ukrainian military or security forces against Russian sovereign territory, or against Russian-speaking people in separatist-controlled territory, to justify military action against Ukraine,” the OSCE statement outlines.
“We must resolutely rebut the false narrative about a Ukrainian ‘escalation’ which finds no evidence whatsoever in the reports of the OSCE’s Special Monitoring Mission,” the statement added.
Macron echoed remarks by other NATO allies, noting that he had seen “no evidence of Russian military disengagement at this stage.”
“I welcome President (Vladimir) Putin’s statements, but I believe that if we want to be a reliable partner, it is always good that actions are in line with statements, and therefore we want to be able to have concrete elements that follow them,” he told reporters.
“We call for the reopening of constructive negotiations, because we continue to believe that this situation can be resolved through dialogue,” Macron said.
He also noted that the “next few hours” would “see close coordination between European and American allies,” who will aim to provide an “appropriate response” by the end of the day.
“I have heard the words of the Russian president. Now we need to move to action, and we need to work with great precision and commitment to stabilize and then de-escalate the situation in collaboration with Russia,” Macron said. “That is essential.”