France, Germany, Ukraine call for removal of Russian troops

PARIS — The leaders of France and Germany are demanding the withdrawal of Russian troop reinforcements recently deployed at the border with Ukraine, the German chancellor's office said Friday after the two heads of state held security talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Zelenskiy met Friday in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel joined them by teleconference. The Ukrainian president is trying to rally backing from the European Union and NATO amid growing tensions between his country and neighbouring Russia.

Merkel's office said the three discussed “the security situation along the Ukrainian-Russian border, as well as in Eastern Ukraine. They shared their concerns about the buildup of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine ... They demanded the withdrawal of these troop reinforcements so as to achieve a de-escalation of the situation.”

Macron and Merkel underlined their support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, according to French and German officials.

The talks come as Ukraine and the West have sounded alarms in recent weeks about the concentration of troops along Russia’s western border, a buildup that the U.S. and NATO have described as the largest there since 2014. Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists have been fighting in eastern Ukraine for seven years.

“We’re hoping that the visit of President Zelenskiy will enable giving a new momentum” to negotiations with both Russia and Ukraine and ultimately to a political solution to the conflict, a French official said.