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7:39 p.m. : .@SecDef: Conflict is not inevitable. There is still time and space for diplomacy. The United States-in lockstep with our allies andpartners-has offered Russia a path away from crisis and toward greater security.
7:30 p.m. : A conflict between Ukraine and Russia “is not inevitable”, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said. “There is still time and scope for diplomacy”, he said during a rare press conference. “Mr. [Vladimir] Putin also has the opportunity to do the right thing.”, he assured.
6:22 p.m. : Let’s take a look at this afternoon’s news :
• The baccalaureate specialty tests, initially scheduled for March 14 to 16, have been postponed to mid-May due to the Covid-19 epidemic, the Ministry of National Education announced after a meeting with union representatives.
• Emmanuel Macron and Vladimir Putin agreed during an hour-long telephone exchange from the “need for de-escalation” in the Ukrainian crisis, announced the French presidency. “President Putin has not expressed any offensive intentions”, also assumed the presidency of the Republic. Follow our live.
• The government will take measures to strengthen controls in nursing homes, learned franceinfo. The boss of Orpea retirement homes is also summoned Tuesday morning by the Minister Delegate for the Autonomy of the Elderly.
5:32 p.m. : According to the report of this conversation, the Russian president nevertheless “reiterated its reproaches vis-à-vis NATO” and Emmanuel Macron “asked for Russia to respect the sovereignty of states”, specified the French presidency.
5:31 p.m. : During their telephone conversation “of one hour”, Emmanuel Macron and Vladimir Putin agreed on the “need for de-escalation” and one “continuation of dialogue” in the Ukrainian crisis, announced the Elysée. “President Putin has not expressed any offensive intentions”, assumes the presidency of the Republic.
5:01 p.m. : If we listen to international media, we can believee “that we already have a war” in all the countries, “that there are troops advancing on the roads. But this is not the case”, continued Volodymyr Zelensky.
5:00 p.m. : “The probability of the attack exists, it has not disappeared and it has not been less serious in 2021”, corn “we don’t see any escalation higher than what existed” last year, assured the Ukrainian president.
5:01 p.m. : Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky calls on Westerners not to arouse “the panic” around tensions with Russia, accused of preparing an invasion of Ukraine. (JOHN THYS / AFP)
3:32 p.m. : While Emmanuel Macron spoke on the phone this morning with Vladimir Poutine about the Ukrainian crisis, Christian Lequesne, professor at Sciences Po and specialist in diplomatic issues, warns: according to him, there is “a French illusion” in believing that the Russians listen to us more.
3:32 p.m. : It is (more than) time to take stock of the news:
• The baccalaureate specialty exams, scheduled for March 14 to 16, have been postponed to mid-May due to the Covid-19 epidemic, the Ministry of National Education announced after a meeting with union representatives.
• Daniil Medvedev secures a place in the final against Rafael Nadal after beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in four sets (7-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1). The Russian made the difference on his service games, apart from a rather incredible second set, concluded by an altercation between the 2nd player in the world and the referee.
• Emmanuel Macron will speak by telephone with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, at 7 p.m., the Elysée announced. A discussion that follows the one he had with Vladimir Putin this morning, the content of which the presidency has not revealed for the moment. Follow our live.
1:01 p.m. : The telephone conversation between Emmanuel Macron and Vladimir Putin is over. The French president will also meet with the Ukrainian president this evening, at 7 p.m., the Elysée informed France Télévisions.
12:14 p.m. : It’s noon, so it’s time to think about your lunch… and take stock of the news.
• The gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 7% in 2021, according to figures published by INSEE this morning. A record for more than 50 years.
• “Confrontation or consultation, it’s up to Vladimir Putin to say”, said the head of French diplomacy on Friday, while President Emmanuel Macron is to meet today with his Russian counterpart about the crisis in Ukraine.
• Suspected of having killed his 10 year old son, a woman was arrested in Choisy-Le-Roi in Val-de-Marne on Friday, franceinfo learned from the prosecutor of Meaux
• Rafael Nadal, ranked 5th in the world, qualified for his 6th Australian Open final on Friday by eliminating Italian Matteo Berrettini (7th) in 4 sets: 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.
11:19 a.m. : The head of Russian diplomacy said today that he wants diplomacy and “not the war”, after the American call for “return to the negotiating table” and not to invade Ukraine. “We have chosen the path of diplomacy for many decades”, Sergei Lavrov said in an interview broadcast on several Russian radio and TV stations.
11:07 : Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko claimed this morning that his country would go to war if Russia was attacked, promising to welcome “hundreds of thousands” of Russian soldiers in the event of a conflict. These martial remarks come as tensions are at their highest between Moscow and the West over Ukraine.
10:33 am : “Confrontation or consultation, it’s up to Vladimir Putin to say”, said Jean-Yves Le Drian, the head of French diplomacy, on RTL this morning, while President Emmanuel Macron is to meet in the morning with his Russian counterpart on the crisis in Ukraine. “Now the ball is on Putin’s side”, he added.
09:20 : The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Yves Le Drian, will visit “very soon” in Ukraine with his German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock, entrusted the Quai d’Orsay to franceinfo.
09:56 : It’s 9 o’clock, so it’s time for a new update on the news.
• The gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 7% in the fourth quarter of 2021, according to figures published by INSEE this morning. A record for more than 50 years.
• The United States has assured that the expensive Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in Moscow would be stillborn in the event of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, calling on Russia to “return to the negotiating table”.
• Australia unveiled a $700 million program to protect the Great Barrier Reef, which has been badly damaged by climate change.
• Rafael Nadal, ranked 5th in the world, qualified for his 6th Australian Open final on Friday by eliminating Italian Matteo Berrettini (7th) in 4 sets: 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.
07:21 : Emmanuel Macron is due to meet with Vladimir Putin this morning in the context of the Ukrainian crisis. A way to favor the diplomatic voice. Franceinfo summarizes the different negotiation channels to calm the situation between Kiev and the Kremlin.
07:11 : Germany and France continue to favor dialogue with Moscow, but this strategy is undermined in the Ukrainian conflict, since Kiev is the ally of the West. “The real weapon Europe has right now is decarbonisation. Without demand, Vladimir Putin will be really stuck”, says Anna Creti.
07:11 : One project in particular is causing discord among Europeans: the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. The pipe is to link Russia to Germany, bypassing Ukraine. “The United States, Poland, Ukraine, the Baltic countries see it as a new means of influence for Russia, and a strengthening of European energy dependence”, explains Vera Ageeva, associate professor at the School of Advanced Studies in Economics in Saint Petersburg.
07:10 : But Vladimir Putin has a major advantage in this showdown. He leads the territory that holds the largest gas reserves in the world. About 40% of the gas consumed in the EU comes from Russia. “It’s a constant. Depending on the economic and political context, and according to his interests, Vladimir Putin brings out the weapon of gas”, explains Anna Creti, professor at the University of Paris Dauphine.
(ELLEN LOZON / FRANCEINFO)
07:09 : To dissuade Russia from any military action in Ukraine, the West has unveiled a series of unprecedented sanctions, including the targeting of Russian natural gas deliveries to Europe. Since the resurgence of tensions between the two countries, this hydrocarbon is frequently brandished by Westerners as an argument to bend the Kremlin. I’ll tell you why.
(STEFAN SAUER / DPA / AFP)
07:27 : “Any conflict involving one or more countries that have nuclear weapons is extremely dangerous. (…) I’m afraid it’s going into a spin.”
The strong tensions between Russia and the United States over Ukraine increase the risk of the use of nuclear weapons and of causing a planetary disaster, warned in an interview with AFP Béatrice Fihn, Nobel laureate for peace in 2017.
07:33 : It’s 6 o’clock a few minutes past, time to take stock of the news.
• “Over 150,000” people demonstrated yesterday in France to demand wage increases, according to the CGT. The authorities have for their part identified 89,000 demonstrators, including 8,800 in Paris, according to a count by the Ministry of the Interior carried out at 5 p.m.
• Emmanuel Macron yesterday rekindled the flame under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris on the occasion of the international day dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Holocaust.
• The United States has assured that the expensive Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in Moscow would be stillborn in the event of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, calling on Russia to “return to the negotiating table”.
• The Moroccan government has decided to reopen, as of February 7, the airspace to flights departing from and arriving in the country, after more than two months of closure, according to a press release released yesterday evening.