Russian and Ukrainian negotiators met in Paris Wednesday, along with French and German advisors, in a bid to defuse soaring tensions over the Ukraine crisis, with Paris seeking to usher both sides down a "path to de-escalation", reports FRANCE 24.
The high-level meeting brought together representatives of the four countries under the so-called Normandy Format, which has been used repeatedly since Russia's 2014 annexation of the Ukrainian province of Crimea.
Russia was represented by the Kremlin's deputy chief of staff, Dmitry Kozak, and Ukraine by presidential advisor Andriy Yermak, with advisors to President Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Olaf Scholz also taking part in the talks that began Wednesday morning.
At a joint press conference with Scholz in Paris on Tuesday, Macron said France and Germany were ready to pursue dialogue with Russia, but if Moscow attacked Ukraine the price would be "very high".
France is hoping that Russia is prepared to engage in talks at a time when it has massed 100,000 troops on Ukraine's border.