What are the diplomatic options to avert war in Ukraine? | DW News

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hosted French President Emmanuel Macron and Polish President Andrzej Duda in Berlin on Tuesday, on the heels of talks with US, Russian and Ukrainian leaders. The three were meeting over fears about Russia amassing military hardware and more than 100,000 troops near the border with Ukraine.

Tuesday's meeting came after Russian President Vladimir Putin told Macron that Russia "would not be the source of an escalation" during talks in Moscow a day prior. On the heels of those talks in Moscow, Macron met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy , who said he would welcome concrete steps from Putin for de-escalation, but added that he didn't "trust words in general." German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also visited the front line in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas on Tuesday. It also follows Scholz's meeting with US President Joe Biden on Monday where the pair threatened Russia with grave consequences if it invades Ukraine.

NATO is uncharacteristically divided on how to deal with Russia in the escalating crisis over Ukraine. "The US and the UK favor deterrence and a hard line; Germany, France and Italy are emphasizing dialogue, and a third group, including Bulgaria, Hungary and Slovakia, wants to stay out of the conflict and any troop deployment," says Stefan Meister, an expert on Russia and eastern Europe at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP).

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