Emmanuel Macron and Vladimir Putin did not appear to reach a breakthrough in marathon talks at the Kremlin on Monday evening aimed at fending off a Russian attack on Ukraine.

After five hours of negotiations, Macron warned that the two sides needed to work quickly to avoid the risk of an escalation.

“Right now the tension is increasing and the risk of destabilisation is increasing,” Macron said, according to a simultaneous translation of his remarks following the talks. “Neither Russia, nor the Europeans want chaos or instability, when nations have already suffered from the [coronavirus] epidemic. So we need to agree on concrete measures.”

Macron is due to travel to Kyiv on Tuesday, where he will hold talks with the president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy. He said he plans to brief Putin on the results of the discussions in a phone call.