British Foreign Secretary Arrives In Moscow As European Leaders Pledge Unity On Ukraine

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has arrived in Moscow on February 9 for talks with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as European leaders take center stage in efforts to defuse an ongoing crisis prompted by Russia's troop buildup near Ukraine that the West suspects is the prelude to an invasion.

“In Moscow to meet Foreign Minister Lavrov and make clear that Russia must immediately withdraw its forces and respect Ukraine’s sovereignty or face severe consequences,” Truss tweeted upon her arrival in the Russian capital late on February 9.

“Any incursion would be a huge mistake. Diplomacy is the only way forward and Russia must pursue that path,” she added.

Truss's trip comes a day after French President Emmanuel Macron completed a round of shuttle diplomacy that saw him hold separate talks with both the Russian and Ukrainian presidents.

Macron, who ended his whirlwind tour on February 9 with meetings in Berlin with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Polish President Andrzej Duda, urged continued "firm dialogue" with the Kremlin as the only way to defuse fears Russia could invade Ukraine.

"We must find ways and means together to engage in a firm dialogue with Russia," he said after talks with Scholz and Duda.

Macron later briefed U.S. President Joe Biden on his talks with Putin, the White House said.

"They discussed President Macron's recent meetings," a statement said. "They also talked about ongoing diplomatic and deterrence efforts, undertaken in close coordination with our allies and partners, in response to Russia's continued military build-up on Ukraine's borders."

The European leaders have vowed to stay united in their goal of defusing tensions over Russia's moves.

Scholz said the three leaders were "united by the goal of maintaining peace in Europe through diplomacy and clear messages and the shared will to act in unison."

During a joint news conference later with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, the German leader said the recent spate of diplomatic efforts marked "progress" in helping to prevent a Russian invasion of Ukraine.

"The task is that we ensure the security in Europe, and I believe that that will be achieved," Scholz said.

Duda, meanwhile, said he believed that war could be averted.

"We have to find a solution to avoid war," Duda said. "As I've said, this is currently our main task. I believe that we will achieve it. In my opinion what's most important today is unity and solidarity."

Duda will discuss the crisis with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in Warsaw on February 10. Johnson will also visit Brussels for talks with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at the alliance's headquarters.

SEE ALSO: British PM To Visit Warsaw Over Ukraine

Separate talks involving high-ranking officials will also take place in Berlin on February 10.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the talks could pave the way for a summit with the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany aimed at reviving the stalled peace plan for the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Macron had no breakthroughs to announce at the end of his two-day diplomatic tour, but said he thought his talks had helped prevent the crisis from escalating further. He urged patience, saying the standoff over Moscow's troop buildup near the border with Ukraine could take months.

SEE ALSO: Macron Sees A Path Forward In Ukraine Crisis, But Says It May Take Months

The French leader, who met with Vladimir Putin in Moscow on February 7, said the Russian president had told him that Moscow "would not be the source of an escalation" despite amassing more than 100,000 troops and military hardware on Ukraine's border.

After meeting in Kyiv on February 8 with Zelenskiy, Macron said he saw the "possibility to make these negotiations move forward" between Russia and Ukraine, adding that he also sees "concrete, practical solutions" for reducing tensions between Moscow and the West.

Moscow is pressuring Ukraine to offer concessions to Kremlin-backed separatists who have been fighting Kyiv since 2014 in a conflict that has claimed more than 13,200 lives.

Both Putin and Zelenskiy said they were committed to the principles of the peace agreement, Macron said, adding that the deal, known as the Minsk accords, offered a path to resolving their ongoing disputes.

Kyiv has said it will not compromise on Ukraine's territorial integrity, will not hold direct talks with separatists in eastern Ukraine, and will not tolerate interference in its foreign policy.

Moscow insists it has no plans to attack Ukraine but has continued to make provocative military moves while also demanding guarantees from the West that NATO will not accept Ukraine and other former Soviet nations as members, that it halt weapon deployments there, and also roll back its forces from Eastern Europe.

Both Washington and NATO have rejected the demands as nonstarters.

U.S. officials say Russia has increased its deployment to some 110,000 troops near the border with Ukraine and is on track to amass a large enough force -- some 150,000 soldiers -- for a full-scale invasion by the middle of the month.

NATO said Russia also plans to amass a total of some 30,000 troops in Belarus for joint military exercises scheduled to last until February 20.

With reporting by AFP and Reuters