French President Emmanuel Macron will visit Russia on Monday and then head to Ukraine on Tuesday, the Elysée told multiple media outlets Friday morning.
Macron will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 7, and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy on February 8.
Macron has had multiple calls with Putin over the past week. He spoke to the Russian leader as well as Zelenskiy on the phone Thursday.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has also said he would visit Moscow soon but is unlikely to join Macron on his visit since he is traveling to the U.S. on Sunday and Monday.
On Wednesday in northern France, Macron said that he would not rule out going to Russia to try to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis mounting on the Ukrainian border with Russia, where 100,000 Russian troops are massed along its side of the frontier.
Speculation of a face-to-face meeting between Putin and Macron gathered steam over the last few days, with the Russian president suggesting earlier this week that a visit to Moscow by his French counterpart was imminent. Late on Tuesday, Macron canceled a trip to Marseille planned for next week.
