French president, German chancellor to visit Russia, Ukraine as tensions rise

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz are both traveling to Russia as Western powers look to hold off a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Macron will visit Moscow on Monday and Kyiv on Tuesday, The Associated Press reported. 

France has been pushing for diplomatic talks to solve the crisis between Russia and Ukraine, but has sent troops to Romania. 

Scholz will travel to Moscow on Feb. 15 and will go to Kyiv on Feb. 14, according to the AP. 

Russia has massed troops near the Ukraine border, prompting fears of an invasion. Lawmakers left a briefing on Capitol Hill on Thursday evening warning of the potential for conflict.

“This is the most significant threat in Europe since 1945. It’s just that simple,” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) told reporters after exiting the briefing, calling a Russian invasion a “near certainty.”

The travel plans for Macron and Scholz come after the leaders have spoken to or will speak to President Biden. 

Macron talked to Biden on Wednesday to discuss the situation with Russia and Ukraine. Scholz is set to visit Washington and speak with the president on Monday.

Russia has denied it will invade Ukraine, but is demanding the country not be let into NATO. Russia also wants Western countries to pull military operations out of eastern Europe.

The U.S. has said both of the demands are non-starters in negotiations. 

Russia received support from Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday in a joint statement released by Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin before the Olympics began. 

China supports Russia’s demands regarding Ukraine while Russia said it supported China’s claims to Taiwan, the statement read.