The US and France decide to join forces to hold Russia accountable for the conflict in Ukraine.
Western powers are trying to bolster their support for Ukraine while hinting at negotiations with Russia.
247 - The presidents of the United States and France said they will hold Russia accountable for its actions in Ukraine, and the European Union reached a provisional agreement on an oil price cap to reduce Moscow's export revenues, Reuters reports.
Western powers are trying to rally support for Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Russia accused the United States and NATO of playing a direct and dangerous role in the war, saying that Washington had turned Kiev into an existential threat to Moscow that cannot be ignored.
In an attempt to reduce the funds available for Moscow's war effort, the European Union tentatively agreed on Thursday to a price ceiling of $60 per barrel for Russian seaborne oil, according to diplomats. The measure would need to be approved by all EU governments in a written procedure by Friday.
US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron said in a joint statement following talks in the Oval Office of the White House on Thursday that they are committed to holding Russia accountable "for widely documented atrocities and war crimes committed by both its regular armed forces and its proxies" in Ukraine.
Biden said that Washington and Paris "are standing up to Vladimir Putin's ambition for conquest" and "defending democratic values and universal human rights."
Biden told reporters he was prepared to speak with the Russian president if he was indeed interested in finding a way to end the war, but added that Putin "hasn't done that yet."
Macron said he will continue talking with Putin to "try to avoid escalation and obtain very concrete results," such as the safety of nuclear power plants.
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