The hope of avoiding a war in Ukraine grew on Wednesday February 9 after the intense diplomatic activity of recent days.

"Today, there are real chances for a diplomatic settlement", welcomed in Kiev the head of Ukrainian diplomacy Dmytro Kouleba, for whom the situation remains "tense, but under control".

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also showed optimism, welcoming Wednesday to the "progress" born of the resumption of intense diplomatic exchanges between Russia and the West.

"The mission is to ensure security in Europe and I believe we will achieve that," he added.

The French presidency also welcomed on Wednesday the fact that Emmanuel Macron's tour to Moscow, Kiev and Berlin had achieved its "objective" by making it possible to "move forward" to appease the situation.

It is now a question of "allowing everyone to take a break and consider the means of de-escalation (...) in a moment of growing tensions" on the Russian-Ukrainian border, according to the same source.

"There have been positive signals about Ukraine's decision to act solely on the basis of the Minsk agreements, that's a plus," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, referring to the agreements signed in 2014 and 2015 by Kiev and the separatists under the aegis of Paris, Berlin and Moscow, which aimed to end the conflict in eastern Ukrainian territory.

"But we didn't hear from (Ukrainian) President Volodymyr Zelensky saying he was ready to deal with it quickly," he continued.

Washington accuses Moscow of mobilizing

Washington nevertheless continued to accuse Moscow of mobilizing.

“We have continued to observe, including in the past 24 hours, additional capabilities pouring in from other parts of Russia towards the border with Ukraine and Belarus,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told the Times. during a press briefing on Wednesday at the end of the day.

"We won't give specific numbers but they continue to rise," he added, pointing to a total of "more than 100,000" men now present.

On Wednesday, Emmanuel informed Joe Biden by telephone of "his recent meetings" with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts, the White House announced.

"They also discussed ongoing diplomatic and deterrence efforts, undertaken in close coordination with our allies and partners, in response to Russia's continued military deployment on Ukraine's borders," she added.

The diplomatic ballet continues

Russia is preparing to receive the head of British diplomacy Liz Truss, for a two-day trip.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is on his way to Poland, where the United Kingdom intends to deploy additional soldiers.

It is in this context that Olaf Scholz is increasing his involvement, in response to criticism in recent weeks of his discretion and supposed complacency towards Moscow.

After welcoming Danish head of government Mette Frederiksen on Wednesday, Angela Merkel's successor will receive the leaders of the Baltic countries, neighbors of a worrying Russia, on Thursday.

Despite the announcement of the dispatch of 350 more German soldiers to Lithuania as part of a NATO mission, Berlin's reluctance over Estonia's delivery of German weapons to Kiev has created tensions these last weeks.

After his visit to Washington on Monday, intended to reassure the Americans, then the meeting on Tuesday in the German capital of the Weimar Triangle, formed with France and Poland, Mr. Scholz is walking on a thread, between the expectations of his Western partners and his country's dependence on Russian gas.

The reserves of this hydrocarbon in Germany have also fallen to a "worrying" level, below the critical threshold of 40%, the government announced on Wednesday.

With AFP

The summary of the

France 24 week invites you to come back to the news that marked the week

I subscribe

Take international news everywhere with you!

Download the France 24 app

google-play-badge_FR