(Bloomberg) -- U.S. Army reinforcements arrived in Europe, and French President Emmanuel Macron held talks on unity among North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries.
The U.S. said any conflict between Russia and Ukraine would hurt China's international interests. NATO's chief rejected a demand by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping that the military alliance halt any expansion eastward.
Putin, while in Beijing for the opening of the Winter Olympics, met Xi on Friday to exchange views and pledge a bilateral friendship with “no forbidden zones.”
Moscow has repeatedly denied that it plans to attack Ukraine, while the U.K. and U.S. say Russia has massed almost 130,000 troops close to the border. Russia has decried the use of NATO forces near its borders.
Key Developments
- Putin's Financial Fortress Blunts Impact of Threatened Sanctions
- Putin Courts China's Xi for Help in Showdown With the West
- Ukraine May Help Shore Up Its Market With Debt Buybacks
- What we know so far about potential U.S.-EU sanctions on Russia
- Where military forces are assembling around Russia and Ukraine
All times CET
Macron Seeks to Ease Tensions in Putin Meeting (12:00 a.m.)
French President Emmanuel Macron is seeking to discuss de-escalating the situation in Ukraine with Vladimir Putin during a trip to Moscow on Monday.
“We have to be very realistic,” Macron told Le Journal du Dimanche newspaper in an interview. “We're not going to get unilateral gestures, but it's essential to avoid a deterioration of the situation before building reciprocal mechanisms and gestures of trust.”
Macron said Russia's geopolitical goal was clearly not Ukraine but “to clarify the rules of cohabitation with NATO and the EU.”
He said it's essential to guarantee the security of the Baltic states, Poland and Romania, that there can be no compromising on the security and sovereignty of Ukraine or any other European state, and that it is also legitimate for Russia to question its own security.
U.S. Army Task Force Sets Up in Germany (6:26 p.m.)
About 300 newly deployed U.S. service members arrived in Germany and set up a joint task force within 24 hours of getting the call, according to an Army statement on Saturday. The forces from the 18th Airborne Corps out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, were sent to Wiesbaden, near Frankfurt.
Army Major General Christopher Donahue, the commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, has arrived in Poland, where the Pentagon has said it's deploying components of an infantry brigade combat team.
The corps' presence “serves to bolster existing U.S. forces in Europe and demonstrates our commitment to our NATO allies and partners,” Captain Matt Visser, the unit's spokesman, said in the statement.
Turkey's Erdogan Tests Positive for Covid (3:47 p.m.)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a Twitter post that he and his wife Emine had tested positive for coronavirus on Saturday, two days after being in Ukraine.
Erdogan traveled to Kyiv for meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. The pair were photographed, both wearing masks, while inspecting an honor guard outside the Mariinsky Palace, and also maskless during a meeting inside the palace.
France's Macron Speaks With Johnson, Stoltenberg (1:32 p.m.)
French President Emmanuel Macron continued his busy round of diplomacy on Saturday, holding calls with U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg.
The discussions were focused mostly on NATO unity and finding a diplomatic solution to what Johnson's government in a readout called “Russian aggression.”
“The leaders discussed their work to strengthen NATO's Eastern flank, ensuring that allies are fully defended against malicious Russian activity, wherever and however it might occur,” the Downing Street readout said.
Ukraine's Zelenskiy, EU's Michel Discuss Regional Situation (1:05 p.m.)
European Council President Charles Michel said on Twitter that he “touched base” with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Saturday to review the latest developments.
Zelenskiy in his own tweet said the pair discussed the current situation around Ukraine and “its de-escalation within all existing format,” adding that “we're making diplomatic efforts to restore peace.”
Strategists Say Markets Underpricing Conflict Risk (7:30 a.m.)
Recent risk assessments by investors focused on central bank policy have eclipsed factors such as the potential for military conflict on Europe's eastern fringe, according to UBS strategists led by Bhanu Baweja. “Little or no Russia-Ukraine risk appears to be priced in,” they said in a note earlier this week.
Investors should “be ready to reduce risk should the situation materially deteriorate,” said strategists at Amundi SA, Europe's biggest asset manager. They warned that a Russian invasion -- which the Kremlin has denied it's planning -- could plunge Europe into stagflation.
German and Eastern European companies, Russia-focused banks and companies with significant sales in the country look exposed, Amundi said.
White House Official Calls for ‘United Front' (1:00 a.m.)
A “united front” by NATO is the best way to steady the situation around Ukraine, said Ron Klain, President Joe Biden's chief of staff.
“I think a united front of the freedom loving countries of NATO, a united front of the NATO alliance, is the best thing we can do to try to prevent President Putin from making this horrific mistake,” Klain said Friday night on MSNBC.
Klain said the U.S. has “sent a very strong message publicly and privately” to Putin to not send combat forces across Ukraine's border.
Ukraine Debt Buybacks May Reassure Market (11:59 p.m.)
Ukraine has bought back some of the $1.4 billion in bonds set to mature in September, plus some of its so-called GDP warrants. That may give investors comfort the government is ready to support the debt market.
The bonds tumbled recently to levels not seen since the pandemic crisis in 2020 as markets were spooked by the escalation of tensions with Russia. The buybacks may be a signal that the government is ready to step in, buying dips to shore up the market.
Fitch on Friday changed its outlook on Ukraine to stable from positive, while affirming its B rating, its fifth-lowest junk ranking, on par with Nigeria and Costa Rica.
U.S. Says Conflict Would Hurt China's Interests (7:14 p.m.)
Biden administration officials have cautioned Beijing that conflict between Ukraine and Russia would affect China's international interests, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said following the meeting between Xi and Putin.
“We've also conveyed that a destabilizing conflict in Europe would impact China's interests all over the world and certainly China should know that,” Psaki told reporters on Friday after she was asked about U.S. reaction to the meeting between the two American adversaries.
The Biden administration, she said, has its own relationship with China in which “we engage directly at a very high level.” But she added that “our focus right now is continuing to unite with allies and partners to respond decisively if Russia further invades Ukraine.”
Stoltenberg Dismisses Russia-China Demand to Halt NATO (3:29 p.m.)
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg rejected claims that the 30-member alliance has expansion ambitions as “wrong.” “This is about respecting the sovereign right of independent nations to choose their own path,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.
Stoltenberg also said that the alliance is keeping an eye on China and Russia as they coordinate more closely militarily. “They are operating more together, they have more exercises together,” he said. “Just a few days ago they had a joint naval exercise with also Iran. So of course this is something we follow and monitor.”
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