French Foreign Minister: no indication for now that Russia ready to take action in Ukraine

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian attends a joint news conference with Dutch counterpart Wopke Hoekstra (not pictured) in Paris, France January 28, 2022. Thomas Coex/Pool via REUTERS

PARIS, Feb 2 (Reuters) – There are no indications at this stage to suggest that Russia is ready to take action in Ukraine, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told France 2 Television on Wednesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the West on Tuesday of deliberately creating a scenario designed to lure it into war and ignoring Russia’s security concerns over Ukraine. read more

Russia has gathered tens of thousands of troops near its border with Ukraine but has denied plans to invade Ukraine. read more

Nearly eight years after Russia seized Crimea and backed separatist fighters in Donbass in eastern Ukraine, the former Soviet republic has become the flashpoint in potentially the most dangerous East-West confrontation since the Cold War.

Reporting by John Irish; Reporting by Benoit Van Overstraeten; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta

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