Putin says proposals made in Macron talks are possible as ‘basis’ for further steps

Russian President Vladimir Putin left a meeting on Monday with French President Emmanuel Macron indicating some proposals had a “basis for further steps” of possible compromise amid rising tensions between Moscow and the West.

“A number of his ideas, proposals … are possible as a basis for further steps,” Putin said at a press conference following his five-hour meeting with Macron in Moscow, according to France 24.

“We will do everything to find compromises that suit everyone,” he added, noting that he still blamed the West for escalating tensions in Ukraine.

Putin did not provide further details but said he and Macron would speak again following the French president’s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv scheduled for Tuesday, France 24 reported.

“President Putin assured me of his readiness to engage,” Macron said after the meeting, according to the outlet. “There is no security for the Europeans if there is no security for Russia.”

The meeting came as Moscow has amassed more than 100,000 troops along the Ukrainian border and as U.S. officials say Russia could act on invading Ukraine any day now.

Reports have indicated that Putin’s military presence along the border makes up about 70 percent of what he would need for a large-scale attack of Ukraine. 

President Biden said Monday during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that he would shut down the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Europe should Russia invade Kyiv but did not say how he would do so considering it is controlled by Germany.

“If Russia invades, that means tanks or troops crossing the border of Ukraine again, then there will be no longer a Nord Stream 2. We will bring an end to it,” Biden said.

“I promise you we will be able to do that,” he added.