UPDATE - German, French, Polish leaders meet in Berlin to prevent war in Europe

UPDATES WITH COMMENTS FROM MACRON, DUDA, ADDS BACKGROUND

BERLIN (AA) - The leaders of Germany, France and Poland urged Russia on Tuesday to back away from military threats and pursue a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine crisis.

"Our common goal is to prevent a war in Europe," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said at a joint news conference in Berlin with French President Emmanuel Macron and Polish President Andrzej Duda.

"Any further violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity is unacceptable, and it would have massive political, economic and geostrategic consequences for Russia," he said, adding that it was the common position of Western nations.

Scholz underlined their commitment to dialogue and desire to find a peaceful resolution.

The talks came as Germany and France stepped up diplomatic efforts in recent days amid mounting fears of an imminent Russian attack on Ukraine.

The Chancellor visited Washington on Monday and Macron engaged in an intense two days of shuttle diplomacy between Moscow and Kyiv.

Macron told reporters that Europe would do anything to maintain peace and stability on the continent and would continue to defend European values and principles, including respect for territorial integrity and the sovereignty of all the states.

Recalling recent meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, Macron said Germany and France will continue dialogue with Moscow in the coming days as part of the Normandy format talks.

“That is the only way to achieve peace in Ukraine, as it was also publicly acknowledged by President Putin and President Zelensky,” he said.

Duda said the meeting shows that European countries are united.

Expressing strong solidarity with Ukraine, he underlined that Europe “cannot allow concessions” and “take steps back” amid military threats by Russia.

Russia recently amassed more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine, prompting fears that the Kremlin could be planning another military offensive against its ex-Soviet neighbor.

Moscow has denied it is preparing to invade and said its troops are there for exercises.

The Kremlin also issued a list of security demands from the West, including a rolling back of troop deployments to some ex-Soviet states, and guarantees that Ukraine and Georgia will not join NATO.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg reiterated Monday that allies are ready to meet with Russia to discuss issues raised by Moscow but he also stressed that every country has the right “to be part of an alliance or not” under international law.