PARIS, Feb 18 (Reuters) – France and Germany see “no basis” in fears pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine led them to decide on a mass evacuation of civilians to Russia, say in a joint press release the French and German Foreign Ministers.
Jean-Yves Le Drian and Annalena Baerbock say they have “taken note of the call” from the leaders of the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Luhansk to evacuate to Russia, “supposedly as a precaution in anticipation of a possible Ukrainian attack” .
“We see no basis for these allegations and we call on Russia to use its influence over the self-declared republics to encourage restraint and contribute to de-escalation,” they add.
Shelling intensified Thursday and Friday in eastern Ukraine, with authorities in Kiev and pro-Russian separatists blaming each other for the tension, raising fears in the West that Russia is using it as a pretext to invade its next to.
“We fear that fabricated incidents will be manipulated and taken as a pretext for a military escalation”, say Jean-Yves Le Drian and Annalena Baerbock. (Written by Bertrand Boucey)
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