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Feb. 7 (UPI) -- French President Emmanuel Macron said he's hoping to help deescalate the Russian-Western crisis over Ukraine in a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin Monday in Moscow. "This discussion can make a start in the direction in which we need to go, which is towards a de-escalation," Macron said at the start of the meeting with the Russian leader, Radio France International reported.
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Macron said his goal with the talks are to "avoid a war" and "build elements of confidence, stability and visibility for everyone," while Putin praised France's efforts to strengthen European security.
"I see how much effort the French leadership is making to resolve the issue of security in Europe," he said, referring to France's efforts to end the ongoing fighting between government forces and Russian-backed separatists the Donbas region of southeastern Ukraine.
Macron's visit is the latest effort to cool tensions in the crisis that's risen with Russia's buildup of an estimated 130,000 troops along its border with Ukraine. Western powers fear that Moscow is planning an invasion of the country.
The two leaders met for more than five hours, after which Putin indicated the door remained open for further diplomatic efforts to defuse the crisis, according to the New York Times.
"A number of his ideas or proposals -- which it is probably too early to speak about -- I see as rather feasible for creating a foundation for our further steps," the Russian leader told reporters.
Macron is scheduled to travel to Kyiv Tuesday. Putin said the two would speak again by phone after the French president's visit to the Ukrainian capital.
Before Monday's meeting, Macron said he would be looking to create an atmosphere for a larger agreement on a new security deal between Russia and the European Union.
The French leader spoke with U.S. President Joe Biden by phone on Sunday and the two discussed diplomatic and deterrence efforts. The White House said they agreed to continue consulting with Ukraine and others partners over protection.
The talks between Macron and Putin came as European, NATO and American leaders all vowed to create a united front against possible Russian aggression in Ukraine.
In Washington, Biden met with German Chancellor Olof Scholz and promised he would find a way to end the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project if Russia invaded Ukraine, while Scholz declared Germany and Washington would act as one against Moscow.
Also Monday. U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and European Union High Representative Josep Borrell declared the two are acting "in unity" in response to the Russian buildup.
As to Ukraine, "we have seen eye-to-eye our determination to give a united response to Russia's threats," Borrell said. "This is our best asset."
Biden said last week that the United States will send about 3,000 troops to Eastern Europe to support NATO and Ukraine against a Russian invasion.
In the meantime, new satellite images released by Maxar, a U.S.-based technology company, appeared to show new advanced military deployments by Russia in numerous locations in Belarus, which shares a border with Ukraine.
The images showed Russian troops moving through Belarus and building a field camp about 20 miles from the Ukrainian border.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday said the United States and European Union have continued to ignore Russian security concerns.
"Our Western interlocutors prefer not to mention this topic," Peskov said, according to Interfax.
"Instead, they prefer a rather agitated discussion of what they call Russia's future invasion of Ukraine. We can hardly speak of any lull here. We have been hearing daily statements on the topic from the United States and the European capitals."
Russian officials said the troop movements in Belarus are part of military drills that began on Monday.
