Ukraine calls for vigilance and firmness in negotiations with Russia and America continues to pressure

Ukraine has called on Western countries to show "vigilance and firmness" in its negotiations with Russia, while Washington continues to pressure Moscow by sending a limited number of troops to Eastern Europe.

Ukraine called on Western countries, on Saturday, to show "vigilance and firmness" in its negotiations with Russia, which is accused of amassing forces on the border with the aim of the invasion, while Washington continues to pressure Moscow with its announcement of sending a limited number of American soldiers to Eastern Europe.

Since October, Russia has amassed more than 100,000 soldiers and heavy military equipment, in addition to support forces, on its borders with Ukraine, and more recently in Belarus, which also shares a border with Ukraine in the north.

For his part, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stressed, during a phone call with his French counterpart, Jean-Yves Le Drian, "the importance of being vigilant and firm in negotiations with Russia," according to a statement by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.

Kuleba called for "giving priority to a political and diplomatic settlement" with Russia, in light of rising tension.

While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed to Western countries, on Friday, not to cause "panic" due to the Russian military build-up on his country's borders, Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed on the "necessity of de-escalation."

US President Joe Biden continues to pressure his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in the Ukraine crisis, by announcing the dispatch of a limited number of American soldiers to Eastern Europe.

Biden said on Friday that he would "soon" send a small number of US soldiers to reinforce North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces in Eastern Europe.

Meanwhile, French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly announced on Saturday that France intends to send "several hundred" soldiers to Romania as part of a possible deployment of NATO forces.

The Kremlin quoted Putin as telling French President Emmanuel Macron, "The answers of the United States and NATO did not take into account Russia's core concerns. The main issue was ignored, which is how the United States and its allies intend to implement the principle of not enhancing the security of any country at the expense of other countries."

The call between Putin and Macron followed talks in Paris this week between Russia and Ukraine attended by France and Germany, which issued a joint statement vowing to maintain a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine between government forces and pro-Moscow separatists.

The two sides also agreed to hold new talks in Berlin in February.