High-level diplomatic talks continued Tuesday amid ongoing tensions on the Russia-Ukraine border. In Kyiv, French President Emmanuel Macron signaled some progress during his talks one day earlier with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but the Kremlin quickly rebuffed any claims that Moscow had made any commitments toward deescalation. Russia is preparing to begin 10 days of military drills in Belarus with some 30,000 combat troops expected to participate. Meanwhile, Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Polish President Duda put on a unified front against Russia during a joint press conference Tuesday. This is President Macron.

President Emmanuel Macron: “We will continue to act in the coming weeks with simple objectives. The first one, it has been said: avoiding war. The peace and stability of the European continent are treasured by us, and we believe our duty is to do whatever is in our power to preserve it.”

The European leaders also warned again of “wide-reaching consequences” if Russia invades Ukraine. President Biden has also threatened to impose sweeping sanctions on Russia. After headlines, we’ll host a debate on U.S. sanctions being considered in Congress.