On board the A-330 France Air Force presidential plane bound for Kiev, Ukraine, President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron told reporters that he had obtained a promise from Russian President Vladimir Putin "that there will be no escalation" in the crisis with Ukraine. That is why he spoke of a 'goal achieved'. 

Last night, in fact, at the end of the Putin-Macron face-to-face that lasted five hours, Moscow assured Paris that: "For our part, we will do everything to find compromises that can satisfy everyone". In short, the Kremlin would be willing to find compromises to avoid a Russian-Western military escalation on the border with Ukraine.

The French President added: "For me, it was a question of blocking the game to prevent escalation and open up new perspectives". Yesterday, the two heads of state reportedly agreed that a Russia-NATO war 'would have no winners'. Today Macron meets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev.