Putin reportedly tells Macron he will not ‘initiate escalation’

Assessment: According to the French president, Putin also said there won’t be any Russian “permanent (military) base” or “deployment” in Belarus, where Russia had sent a large number of troops for war games … French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin told him in their marathon talks a day earlier that Moscow would not further escalate the Ukraine crisis. Macron’s remarks on a visit to Kyiv came as the Kremlin denied reports