In view of the tense situation in the Ukraine conflict, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock traveled to Kiev at the beginning of February.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian wrote on Twitter on Saturday that he would travel to Ukraine with Baerbock on February 7th and 8th.

The Foreign Office in Berlin confirmed that Baerbock would travel to Kiev "soon", but did not give an exact date.

"We are continuing our efforts in the N4 format for de-escalation," wrote Baerbock on Twitter.

The N4 format refers to the deliberations of Russia and Ukraine mediated by Germany and France, also known as the Normandy format.

In the Normandy format, the tense situation was last discussed at consultant level on Wednesday.

However, the more than eight-hour talks remained without concrete results.

A desired strengthening of the ceasefire was emphasized.

A follow-up meeting in Berlin was also agreed.

In view of a massive Russian troop deployment near Ukraine, there are fears in the West that the Kremlin could be planning an invasion of the neighboring country - Moscow denies this to move towards concessions on new security guarantees.

Efforts to defuse the conflict have been going on for weeks.