Paris: French President Emmanuel Macron and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in their phone discussion on Sunday,  promised to "avert an escalation, decrease risks, and preserve peace" in eastern Ukraine, according to a news release from the French presidential office. They also agreed on the importance of favouring a diplomatic solution to the current crisis and "doing everything possible" to achieve it, with French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian meeting his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in the coming days and several consultations in Paris.

"Diplomatic work should enable progress on the basis of recent exchanges by involving all stakeholders... in order to establish, if the conditions are satisfied, a summit at the highest level to define a new order of peace and security in Europe," the news release stated.

Over the weekend, Macron spoke via phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

"President Zelensky has reaffirmed his determination not to respond to provocations and to uphold the truce," the Elysee added in a separate statement.  On Saturday, France asked all of its people in Ukraine to leave the country and advised citizens to postpone their travel plans.

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