Macron: Europe, U.S. must step up efforts to prevent new war against Ukraine

Europe and the United States must step up diplomatic efforts to prevent new Russian aggression on Ukrainian soil, French President Emmanuel Macron has said.

According to an Ukrinform correspondent, he said this in an interview with the American television station CBS.

"Now in Ukraine, if we want to be efficient, we have to accelerate the diplomatic agenda and U.S., Europe, all of us have to be very clear vis-à-vis Russia. We will never accept new military operations on Ukrainian soil and we have to build the way to be credible vis-à-vis that," Macron said.

He stressed that Russia must take measures to de-escalate the situation near Ukraine's borders.

"The situation today and the level of tension at the border is absolutely counterproductive and unacceptable," Macron said.

He also added that sanctions should be imposed in the event of further unacceptable behavior by Russia.

Macron also said that the international community had to define clear "red lines" in its relations with Russia.

Earlier, the Elysee Palace reported that Macron planned to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the near future.

op