French, German foreign ministers to travel to Ukraine for talks

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Saturday he will travel to Ukraine with his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock as part of efforts to de-escalate the conflict there with Russia.
The two top diplomats will visit the country on February 7-8, Le Drian wrote on Twitter.
The Foreign Office in Berlin confirmed that Baerbock would travel to Kiev "soon" but did not give an exact date.
"We are continuing our efforts in the N4 format for de-escalation," Baerbock wrote in a reply to her French colleague's tweet. She was referring to the Normandy format, which brings Russia and Ukraine together for talks with mediation by Germany and France.
The four-way constellation last met to discuss the Ukraine conflict on Wednesday. The talks went on for over eight hours but produced no concrete results.
Kiev and Moscow did however say they both support unconditional compliance with the ceasefire, according to a statement released by the Elysee palace.
Representatives are to hold a follow-up meeting in Berlin at an unknown date.
A massive deployment of Russian troops near Ukraine has stoked fears in the West that the Kremlin could be planning an invasion of its neighbour - which Moscow denies.
Some observers say the troop build-up is aimed at stirring up fears in order to persuade NATO to make concessions on new security guarantees.
Efforts to defuse the conflict have been ongoing for weeks.