Cooperative dialogue between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on a potential agreement for security guarantees in Europe is seen as encouraging by the White House, Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Tuesday.
Speaking to reporters, Psaki remarked that Washington had been heartened by the two presidents’ discussion at Monday’s meeting in Moscow, which showcased “efforts at diplomacy.” She went on to say that interactions of such statesmanship “encourage” and “are encouraged by” the US government.
Despite surface-level American optimism, the true impact of the talks remains unclear. Psaki, in the same press conference on Tuesday, also noted that, despite the apparent progress made in Putin and Macron’s conversation, the de-escalation of tensions in Ukraine was not necessarily the inevitable next step.
The White House spokeswoman put this down to US uncertainty regarding potential next moves by Russia.