France told Russia on Monday NATO would be prepared to defend the sovereignty of Ukraine, near where NATO says Moscow has been staging a troop buildup, while Western leaders sought to tackle a migrants crisis on the eastern borders of the European Union, APA reports quoting Reuters.
The European Union agreed to step up sanctions against Belarus over thousands of migrants stranded in freezing forests on its borders with the EU. Belarus, a close Russian ally, said assertions it had fuelled the crisis were "absurd".
Speaking by telephone to Russian President Vladimir Putin as part of a flurry of conversations between Western leaders and Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, the French leader spoke of his strong concern over the situation on Ukraine's borders.
"Our willingness to defend Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity was reiterated by the president," an adviser to Macron told reporters of the conversation Macron initiated.
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