Putin blames Kyiv for escalation, but says diplomacy should 'intensify'

Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed Kyiv for a military escalation in east Ukraine in a call with French leader Emmanuel Macron on Sunday but said diplomatic efforts to find a resolution needed to intensify.

The call came two weeks after Macron went to Moscow to persuade Putin to refrain from sending troops massed on the border into Ukraine.

"The Russian president noted that the cause of the escalation is provocations carried out by the Ukrainian security forces," a Kremlin readout said.

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Its statement added that the sides discussed the supply of weapons and ammunition by NATO countries to Ukraine, which the Kremlin said was pushing Kyiv towards a "military solution" against separatists in the country's east.

"As a result, civilians... who have to evacuate to Russia to escape the intensifying shelling, suffer," the Kremlin added.

The statement however noted that "the presidents believe it is important to intensify efforts to find solutions through diplomatic means".

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It said the leaders agreed these efforts should be carried out by foreign ministers and representatives from France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine, which make up the Normandy negotiations group.

"Vladimir Putin reiterated the need for the United States and NATO to take Russian demands for security guarantees seriously," the Kremlin's readout added.

The statement said Putin had told Macron that Western countries should give concrete and point-by-point responses to sweeping demands set by Moscow last December to limit the West's role in eastern Europe and ex-Soviet countries.

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